THE GEPPETTO PROJECT By HOWDY DOODY
Chapter Fifty - Sid joins the other side
Sunday mornings for the Intermediate and Senior camps at Green Tree always start later than the rest of the week with the bugle blowing at 8 in the morning, as opposed to the normal wake up time of 7:00. The exceptions to the rule are the little ones of Camp Kenny, who are usually up with the sun regardless of what time of the year it is. This Sunday morning was no different as the toddlers made their way onto the ball fields with their trikes, bikes and electric vehicles.
“What time did you get to bed?” Sarah asked Jeanette as the woman joined the small group of Camp Kenny counselors sitting on the front porch of the cabin drinking coffee and watching the toddlers romp around.
“I guess it was close to 10:00 or so.” Jeanette told the group. “Alicia woke up with a stomach ache around 9:00 and Thomas had to give her an enema to get her bowels moving again. He wants us all to watch out for distended stomachs. It may be an isolated case, but the kitchen is going to be serving more fiber and fruit just in case.” She told the women.
“How did Alicia deal with that?” Martha asked.
Jeanette smiled as she located the little girl playing with a group of friends on the swings. “Once Thomas had her empty, she fell fast asleep within 3 minutes. I don’t even think she remembers being awake last night and going to the Infirmary.” Jeannie replied with a smile.
“So we’re pushing the prune Danish again?” Sarah asked her Head Counselor.
Again, Jeanette smiled. “It’s a good thing that they all like the mini Danish that the bakery puts out. Push anything that will go through them like a racehorse, but make sure they keep hydrated. Thomas will be putting out a notice this morning to staff, so we should all be on the same page. Keep a supply of wipes and training pants available and have bathrooms within running distance or we’re going to have accidents.” Jeanette told the group as they giggled.
“What time did they quit last night? I kept waking up inside a full blown Pink Floyd concert.” Martha said as she sipped her coffee.
“From what I’ve heard, Uncle Sid put on a barn burner. I don’t think the men got to sleep before 1:00 or so.” She said as the girls once more giggled. “Uncle Sid turned the entire lake into a fog bank and was putting on a light show that would have made Showco green with envy. All I saw when we took Alicia to the Infirmary was the Intermediate boys sprawled all over the lake front watching the lasers like hawks.” She told the girls.
“What was Uncle Bert’s response to that?” Sarah asked.
“He was pretty cool about it. He also had his hands full with Christopher who wanted to jump in the lake and play with the fog. Thomas said that Uncle Bert had given all four of Christopher’s caretakers off for the night to see the concert with their boyfriends so he was chasing Christopher from one end of the beach to the other and packed it in around 9:30 and took Christopher back to his cabin for the night.” Jeanette said as laughter from the porch got the little one’s attention as they started drifting back to the cabins.
“It looks like snack time. Breakfast is at 8:30, so give them a little something to hold them over until then.” She said as she finished her coffee just before Kenny came bounding up the stairs and jumped into her lap. “Kenny has a cold bum. Wouldn’t it be better if he had kept his pants on?” She asked the 4 year old as she patted his bare bottom.
“I was the only one who had panties on. Since everybody else was nakey, I got nakey too momma” the boy replied with a dimpled smile. “I’m hungry. What’s to eat?” the boy asked.
While the upper camp prepared for the day ahead, the lower camp stayed quiet right up until Reveille was blown at 8:00
With a low groan, Adam extricated his arm from between himself and the warm body next to him on his right side. The waist length hair told the counselor that it was either Jeannie or Carla, but not until he looked down at the girl’s ass did he know for sure it was Carla. While the golden brown tans were exactly the same, Carla had the larger of the two girls, with dimples on the waistline that confirmed whose buns were whose.
Wrapping his arm around the girl who was attached to his side like a starfish on a clam, Adam ran his fingers along the girls spine gently as he looked towards his left. With the side of his face squashed against Adam’s rib cage, Sammy was still in a deep sleep as he breathed heavily through his mouth. Adam reached his other hand around the sleeping boy and cupped a slightly soggy cheek in the palm of his hand. Giving Sammy a kiss on his forehead, Adam lay there as the sounds of the cabin coming back to life slowly escalated.
“Hey Uncle Adam! Do you wanna take a shower with us?” Trevor asked as he leaped onto Adam’s bed and crawled his way up to his counselor.
“Good morning, sparky. What makes you so bright and cheerful this morning?” Adam asked as he gave the boy a kiss. “We gots to go over to the Depot this morning with Uncle Charlie and get some stuff for the new Feed Bag. He says we can help him load the truck and get to ride in the back!” The boy exclaimed as his eyes twinkled with excitement.
Adam smiled at the boy. “We’re talking about after breakfast, right?” He asked. “Uncle Sid was planning on playing the organ at Vespers. Are you planning to be there?” Adam asked. “I guess so, but I’d rather help Uncle Charlie.” The boy replied. “Well, I know that Uncle Sid and Uncle Kevin were planning on putting on some special music. I think that even Spencer will be singing for us again.” Adam told the boy.
Carla’s head now lifted off Adam’s chest. “Really?” she asked. Adam nodded. “Uncle Kevin has been working with him again. He cannot hit the high notes that he used to, but he still has a very beautiful singing voice.” “Cool” Carla said as she flipped off the sheet and sat up. “You gots to braid my hair after showers. Are you comin?” Carla asked. “As soon as I can get my little friend here to greet the new day.” Adam replied as he rubbed Sammy’s bottom. “He’s waking up. He already gots half a boner.” She said as she looked down on the boy. “Uncle Adam ain’t got half a boner, he gots a whole one!” Trevor said as the boy giggled somewhat and began scooting himself back down the bed.
Adam shook his head as Trevor’s feet hit the floor and he raced after Carla headed for the bathroom showers. As the bedroom door slammed shut behind them, Sammy lifted himself on top of Adam and snuggled himself into the man’s torso. Words had long since been dispensed with between the two when they made love, and Adam always allowed Sammy to dictate the mode and level of involvement. There were times when Sammy merely wanted to be cuddled and brought to climax quickly and fairly effortlessly, and then again, times when his foreplay would make a hooker blush. Having been taught that no sexual act short of S&M was un-acceptable, he had no bounds and even less modesty or shame concerning his sexual behavior. Making love was as natural to the boys as eating and sleeping and accomplished with the same degree of concern or effort. As Sammy lifted both legs alongside Adam like he was riding a horse, the boy re-positioned his body so that Adam’s erection nestled between his cheeks. Once Adam had delivered enough pre-cum to the area, Sammy knew that Adam would effortlessly massage his prostate into action and relieve him of the night’s pent-up tension he was feeling deep within his groin.
As Adam lay there massaging the boys back, he smiled to himself. “Are you trying to tell me something, or is your penis getting squashed?” He asked the boy as he felt Sammy’s erection flexing against his abdomen. Sammy giggled as he purposely flexed it again this time. “I didn’t tell it to do that, it’s jumping because you are tickling me when your hands get near my bottom.” He told his counselor. Adam again smiled as he ran his fingers down the boys crease and across the boy’s puckering anus. Sammy giggled once again as he clamped his buttocks shut, trapping Adam’s fingers which were now massaging the boy’s perineum. A small sucking sound came from Sammy as Adam used his thumbs to draw circles along the area from Sammy’s scrotum to his anus as the boy relaxed his bottom and allowed the man to continue giving him the kinds of sensations that none of his friends had yet mastered, and that only the “Toys” the boys used in sex play could produce with a fresh set of batteries on themselves. Sammy closed his eyes and concentrated on the feelings that were now coursing through his groin all the way to his brain as his hearing diminished and his head began getting that now very familiar “Tightness” about it, as though he had on a sweatband a little too tightly.
More skillfully than two swimmers engaged in a water ballet, Adam and Sammy effortlessly coupled as Adam brought the boy to the precipice of sexual euphoria and back again as he made love to the child known by very few couples in their lifetime. Finally, dripping in perspiration between them, the boy sat himself straight up on Adam’s stomach which gave Adam access to Sammy’s now cherry red penis that was aching for release as Sammy massaged his prostate with his counselor’s impaled penis.
The next few minutes were spent in sexual bliss for the boy as his eyes remained closed, and Adam, with the skill of a Geisha, massaged the boy’s penis into a climax usually reserved for wet dreams in little boys. The feeling was well known to Sammy, and it could have come orally or manually, it really didn’t matter, the effect was the same as the boy’s prostate and testicles convulsed in a feeling of pleasure and lust that had Sammy panting like a puppy as the sweat poured down his stomach and mingled in Adam’s hair.
Collapsing on top of Adam, Sammy’s heart raced as the boy felt a cool breeze wash across his back as Adam sucked on the boy’s neck and tasted the salt of his body. “I’m thirsty!” Sammy said once his breathing returned to a reasonable pace. “And I’m in love.” Adam replied as he kissed Sammy’s neck. Sammy once again giggled. “You say that every morning Uncle Adam.” “And every morning, you give me one more reason to love you. It’s all your fault.” Adam replied as he tickled Sammy under his armpits.
Sammy’s screeching brought some knocking to the bedroom door. “Ain’t you done yet Uncle Adam? We gots to get ready for breakfast and Vespers you know!” Carla said from the other side. “Come in, I guess we’re not going to get any more privacy anyway.” Adam said as the door slammed open and half a dozen soaking wet bodies headed for his bed.
“How much privacy do you need? You bin playing now for half an hour you know!” Jeannie said as she sat on the bed alongside Sammy and looked at him. “Jeez Sammy, how come you’re all wet?” she asked as she ran her hand along Sammy’s back.
“That’s a stupid question; whatcha think they bin doin for the past hour?” Trevor asked the girl as he bounced onto the bed and landed alongside Adam. Adam shook his head and patted Sammy’s bottom. “Let’s go pookey before they have us in the sack for a week!” He told the boy as Sammy giggled once more.
Bundling Sammy up in his arms, Adam walked out of the bedroom followed by his small entourage as he headed for the shower room. “Coffee?” Dr. Lester asked as he mounted the stairs with two cups in his hands and the twins following behind him in their underoos.
Turning around and around under the shower heads that hit them from all sides, Adam put Sammy down on his feet and gave the boy a kiss on top of his head as Sammy joined Matty and Chris who were having a facecloth tossing match. Stepping out of the shower, Adam took the mug of coffee and sat down on the bench as the rest of his brood decided to take another shower and bring the high pitched squealing to the typical morning levels.
“How did you sleep?” Adam asked the Doctor. “Like a log. Right up until Noah’s flood hit, and then I had to abandon ship and make a new dry bed on the porch floor.” The Doctor said with a smile. “Who’s Noah?” Gavin asked. “He’s talking about us wettin the bed. Ain’t you Poppy?” Benji asked the man with a dimpled smile. Dr. Lester smiled and gave the boy a hug. “I didn’t know that it was you two who did that. I thought that there was a hole in the roof and it rained.” He told the boys with a chuckle.
While the twins skipped into the shower room, Adam smiled as he watched the two boys’ dimpled cheeks. “I think if I could line up 100 naked boys, I could pick out the Green Tree Boys just from the rear view. I know that those two had two of the skinniest little butts in Camp when they first came, and now, I can’t tell them from any other boy here if you covered their heads.” Adam said to the Doctor as he sipped his coffee. “I know damned well that neither them had dimples on their asses.”
Doctor Lester smiled as he nodded his head. “A good friend of mine back home is a Pediatrician. He swears that he can tell a child who is well cared for merely by looking at him. He told me that a child with a sheen to his hair, a sparkle in his eyes, a smile on his lips, good teeth, clear skin, and a pair of underpants that is full front and back is a well cared for and happy child. I have to imagine that if he met our boys, he would be quite satisfied that they are well and happy.” The Doctor said. “Thomas has told me that the boys have gained 15 pounds apiece and have added an inch to their height since they arrived. I guess some of it went to their buttocks, I’m not an expert in that area.” He said.
“Well don’t you worry your pretty little head about that Doc, my friend here can tell you which kid is sleeping in his bed just by reading his ass with his hands in pitch blackness!” Sid said. “He’s our resident ass assessor!”
As the man stripped and walked into the showers with Jesse and David giggling, Adam picked up a large sponge and dipped it into the toilet. “Shit, that’s cold!” Sid yelled as the sponge hit him on the back of the head.
Bert’s morning had begun much earlier, despite the fact that he had not gone to bed until late due to the music the night before. He was usually up and at his desk by 5:30 or so, and this Sunday morning, he was just a little late at 6:00, a good hour before the dawn.
Christopher normally required a solid 10 hours of sleep, and was still fast asleep laying with his head on his hands in between his two monitors. Bert quietly closed and locked the front screen door just in case Christopher awoke and started roaming without the girls knowledge.
“Where’s the shadow?” Chef John asked as Bert came into the kitchen. Bert smiled as a Mess Boy handed him a mug of coffee. “He gave it a good try, but he finally collapsed around 10:00 last night. He won’t be up until the sun wakes him unless he’s rousted out of bed.” Bert replied. “What time did you get to bed?” Bert asked the Chef.
“I made it until 9:00 but I knew I had to be up at 3:00. I assume our guests are still on their way?” John Asked his Director.
“They leave the Vineyard just after lunch and they should be here by 4:00” Bert replied. “The plane will be full. The Institute is sending us three teams that will be here for a week. We will have a team of Dentists, Ophthalmologists and Audiologists. All the children will have their routine, semi-annual, check-ups.” Bert told the man.
“What have you heard about the Florida campus?” John now asked.
“Everything is on track. The old kitchen is already gutted and the new equipment is on-site. The electricians, plumbers, gas people and Fire equipment companies have 2 months to get their equipment in and then the carpenters, painters and cabinet people have until December 31, to finish. You’ll have 4 dozen staff, 150 boys and a security detail to maintain the perimeter.” Bert said.
“What about the locals?” John asked.
“As far as they are concerned, it’s a federally run “Wilderness Training Camp” for “At risk” youth. We’ve promised them we’ll “Protect” them from the kids, and all the money is coming from the Feds, we’re not using either State or local funds.” Bert said as John smiled and shook his head.
“How are we going to select the boys? You’re not planning on taking 150 boys all out of Green Tree are you?” John asked. Bert shook his head. “No, you’ll choose 30 boys from Green Tree that you want in the program, and the rest are being recommended by the Chefs at the remaining schools around the Country. You will evaluate the boys during the first semester, and if there are boys who don’t make the cut, they’ll be replaced by other boys from the schools. As for staffing, you’ll have the pick of 12 men from your staff and the remaining staff will come from the remaining facilities pending your approval.” Bert told his Chef. “In effect, you’re going to be starting a whole new school.”
“What about Administration, maintenance, household?” John asked. “You’ll be choosing your staff from the available pool. You’re the Director, and who you tag for the positions you need to fill will be up to you.” Bert told the man.
“I’m a Chef, not an Administrator!” John replied. Bert sat back and smiled. “Now, you’re both. I will give you whatever guidance you need, but the best way for you to acclimate yourself to your new role is to spend the next 4 months shadowing me and learn what it takes to run a camp. My first advice to you is to not try to do it all yourself. I wouldn’t last a week in this job if I didn’t delegate authority and responsibility, and that’s something you’ll have to pick up by osmosis.” Bert replied.
“Delegating isn’t a problem, hell I don’t have a choice in the kitchen, I can’t possibly do all the cooking myself. But I know these people and what they are capable of, and I don’t know the people that will be coming from the other schools.” John replied as two Mess Boys approached.
“I will have each of our department heads send a temporary worker to teach your new people the ropes if need be. You can keep them through the first semester, but they will be returning to Green Tree unless they decide to stay with your approval.” Bert told his Chef as the boys stood by. “What’s up?” John asked the boys as he turned to them.
“We was just wondering if you had made up your mind yet about who you were going to take to Florida with you, and if you were going to take the Senior girls too, Uncle John.” One boy asked. John sat back and smiled a little as he took a sip of his coffee.
“I can always tell when a question is about work, and when it’s about pleasure. When it’s work, I’m always “Chef John”. When I become “Uncle John”, you can bet your ass they are trying to con me into something they want.” John told Bert. “Let me guess. The both of you have friends up on the hill. Right?” he asked.
“We just wanted to know because the girls wanted to know.” One of the boys responded with slightly red cheeks. John smiled and shook his head. “I would think that eventually the new school will be co-ed, but to tell you the truth, the subject hasn’t come up yet with the girls, or with your Aunts. I’m sure that we’ll be looking into it, but as of right now, your Uncle Bert and I haven’t discussed it. Do you two think that there is an interest in going to culinary school coming from the girls’ camp, or are we just talking about making sure you have sheet warmers to go to bed with on those hot Florida nights instead of taking care of business the old fashioned way?” The chef asked.
As the red cheeks on the boys grew, Bert now shook his head and smiled. “We will bring the subject up with the staff, but I think you should keep in mind that your Aunts are not about to be going along with your plans if they include you running a bordello down there. The same dating and rules of conduct will apply down there as they do up here.” He told the boys.
As the boys smiled slightly to each other and turned to go back to setting tables, a door slamming out in the Mess Hall was met with an almost instant announcement of “Christopher alert!” several voices shouted.
“Sounds like your vacation is over.” John said to Bert as the Chef reached for some nearby knives and put them in a drawer. With a bang, both swinging “In” doors to the kitchen came flying open immediately followed by Christopher grinning from ear to ear. “He’s making progress, at least he didn’t cause a pile-up at the “Out” door.” John said as he finished his coffee and handed the mug to a kitchen boy.
“Rink burd, rink?” the boy asked Bert as he climbed into his lap and signed for a drink. Bert kissed the boy on his cheek. “We gave him two glasses or orange juice at the cabin Uncle Bert, but he’s still thirsty.” Clare told the Director as the two girls followed Christopher into the kitchen. Bert nodded as he spoke to Christopher. “Do you want juice or milk to drink?” he asked the boy. “Mik” Christopher replied.
As a kitchen boy went to a cooler for a tumbler of milk, Christopher watched the boy intently as he came back out of the cooler with chocolate milk. “Hang que” He said as he was handed the milk and began to gulp it down in one motion.
As Christopher gulped, a small stream of milk drifted off his chin and down his tummy and began spreading a small wet spot on the pair of yellow training pants he wore. The glass was emptied in one motion as the boy now sported a brown mustache and gave out a large burp. Without missing a beat, Christopher leaned into Burt and wiped his mouth on the Directors shirt. Now looking around the kitchen, he spotted boxes of bananas that were being prepared for breakfast. Signing “Banana”, Christopher looked into Bert’s face with a dimpled smile. “Peez?” he asked. Burt smiled back and gave the boy a kiss on his forehead as he placed him on the floor. “You may have one, and then you have to wait for breakfast.” Burt told the boy.
“I’m not suggesting he’s a lightweight, but just exactly where does all that food he eats go?” The Chef asked Burt. “Most of it goes in one end, and out the other. He probably has an average of 2 to 3 bowel movements a day. Still, Doc Thomas says that he’s only about 15 pounds on the high side of his weight to height chart.” Burt told his Chef as Christopher headed for a rack of cooling pastries.
“Well, I don’t see all that much of a problem, but you should know that I’m getting little hints from the Dietitian to cut back on his calories.” John replied as a mess boy sat a fresh mug of coffee down on the table. “What does she know? She’s up in Boston sitting at her desk!” Bert said tersely. “Yes, but she reads charts and sees figures she doesn’t like. She also knows that Christopher is your pet, so she has enlisted the aid of the girls to put additional pressure on me to feed the boy a few hundred pounds less a day.” John replied.
“My pet?” Burt asked as Christopher’s monitors giggled. John ignored the girls giggling as he watched Christopher stare at a tray of mini Danish that was about at his nose level on the rack. “He’s drooling all over my clean kitchen floor! Give him a few, Trent.” The chef told a Mess Boy.
With a grin from ear to ear, Christopher returned to Burt’s lap with a handful of prune Danish. “Prunes? Couldn’t you have given him some pineapple or cheese Danish instead?” Burt asked the boy.
“They’re all prune Danish. Doc Thomas woke me up in the middle of the night and ordered a “Throne” Menu for the next 2 days. I thought you knew about it.” John replied.
Burt shook his head. “Did he say why?” Burt asked.
“Not really, but I can guess.” John told his boss. Watching Christopher now devouring the Danish, John smiled. “I would keep a close eye on him if I were you girls, Each one of those Danish contains two ground up prunes. You might want to keep him in Huggies until they find their way out of his tummy.” The Chef told the girls. Both girls now looked annoyingly at Burt. “Hey! Don’t blame me, blame your Uncle Thomas, he’s the one who ordered it.” Burt said in his defense.
Sunday morning breakfasts at Green Tree are always a little more involved than most meals, largely due to the wider variety of foods available. Sunday morning meals look much more like a midnight buffet on a Cruise Ship than a camps mealtime. While a normal breakfast takes a half hour for the children to eat, Sunday mornings can easily run for an hour or longer. While all meals are highly social events, this particular meal always stands out.
By 9:30, most of Green Tree was gathering outside the Mess Hall waiting for Vespers to start while the women watched over the Camp Kenny toddlers who were already itching to get into the lake.
“We’ve got some very special guests coming in this afternoon, and you chose today, of all days, to have these kids shitting their brains out?” Adam asked Burt as the Director approached a large group of his staff sitting around a picnic table.
Burt shook his head and smiled a bit. “How did you guess?” He asked.
Well, let’s see.” Adam replied as he held up a hand and counted on his fingers. “Apple sauce, apple juice, prune Danish, bananas, stewed prunes, pears, peaches, plums and apricots. When that stuff starts appearing on the tables all by themselves, you’re pushing for a shit fest.” Adam told his boss.
Burt smiled. “I’m innocent this time. Apparently, Thomas ordered a Throne meal diet last night. I haven’t talked to him yet, but I’m sure he had a good reason.” Burt told his staff.
“We had three cases of constipation in the Infirmary yesterday, and one last night.” Sarah told the group.
“From where?” Adam asked. “Camp Kenny.” Sarah replied.
“Oh, so just because you ain’t smart enough to keep your kids hydrated, our poor little boys have to go shit their brains out?” Sid said as he sipped his coffee.
Knowing that it meant a dip in the lake if the girls caught up with him, Sid made it to the Rec Hall and slammed the door shut before they got there.
Immediately after breakfast, Kevin met at the Rec Hall with the children who were in the choir. Originally the choir consisted of all boys with several of the girls from Camp Kenny, but once the girls from Pine Ridge merged with Green Tree, a growing number of those younger girls now joined in, largely due to the presence of Spencer.
Spencer never openly courted or encouraged the girls, but at the same time, they knew that he was no ordinary 13 year old when it came to making love. It was rare, but when he agreed to having sex with a girl, they knew they were in for a special treat. He had a soft manner, smelled constantly of a combination of baby oil and vanilla, had the face of an angel with piercing eyes and a set of dimples when he spoke, and the body of a pre-pubescent God. Spencer looked good enough to eat, and even the older Camp Kenny boys found themselves sexually attracted to his naked body. Most people know how to have sex; Spencer knows how to make love.
Kevin looked around from his piano as Spencer came in with a dozen or so friends including Paulie, who was by now completely under Spencer’s magic spell. This was no big problem for Spencer, who was used to having people fawn over him, and in this particular case, Spencer was even encouraging the relationship with Paulie whom he had come to befriend and love as well. Kevin quickly noted the fact that the two were holding hands as they walked, something that carries extreme significance at Green Tree between two boys in public. Paulie, in spite of his age (13), was considered an “Outside Uncle” by the Green Tree children. By publically holding his hand, Spencer was declaring him as his own Uncle. Kevin wondered if Burt was aware of this development.
With Paulie watching from the sidelines, Kevin put the choir through their paces before long, rehearsing several songs that they would sing that morning at Vespers. While most of his attention was on Spencer, Paulie listened patiently with several other boys from the cabins. He thought the music was nice, but nothing special since he had heard choirs before, including the Vienna Boys Choir in Boston for a Christmas Show.
Then it came time for Spencer to solo in his new voice range after his voice had cracked 3 months earlier. Kevin knew that Spencer could no longer hold the High Cs of a boy soprano, but he wanted to keep Spencer as close to the line as possible for as long as Spencer’s voice cooperated. His hope was that Spencer’s voice would level out at Tenor rather than Baritone and if he kept exercising Spencer’s vocal cords, he just might succeed.
Since his return from The Vineyard, Spencer had been learning new songs to sing, and as he stepped forward from the choir Paulie was a little surprised since he had never heard Spencer sing before, or that he even knew how to. Kevin chose Pie Jesu for Spencer to solo, and from the opening notes Paulie was stunned as the voice of Spencer filled his ears and floated through his brain with the clarity of Chrystal bells in a Cathedral.
“Pretty neat huh?” Jesse asked Paulie as the last of the piano notes faded away. “You shoulda been here before his voice broke. He could holler high enough to break a wine glass.” Jesse told his friend.
“What’sa matter Paulie?” David asked the boy as Paulie wiped his eyes after turning his head away from the group.
“Paulie’s probably allergic to the smell of this place. It kind of reminds me of a gym locker room full of dirty socks and old sneakers.” Sid said as he approached the group of boys and tossed Paulie’s hair.
“I don’t smell nothin!” Jesse replied as he looked at Paulie a little closer. “Oh.” He said as he looked back at Sid. “That’s OK Paulie. You’re an Uncle and most of the Uncles and even our Aunts cry when they listen to Spencer sing. He does that to old people all the time.” The boy explained.
“I’m sure Paulie appreciates your kind words Jesse, but let’s not set him up with Social Security just yet, OK?” Sid asked as he approached his organ.
“Hey Uncle Sid, you gonna play “Pale” today?” Michael asked from the choir.
As Kevin smiled and shook his head sitting at the piano, Sid chuckled. “Your Uncle Kevin needs a break from Pale this week guys, he has another song he wants me to play at Vespers, but if you ask him real nice, maybe he’ll agree to accompany me for a pre-Vespers run through it to warm us up.”
Shaking his head, Kevin looked at Sid. “I thought maybe we could get through one Service without playing the same tune over and over again.” He said to Sid.
“Hey, this ain’t Services yet, we could play it before everybody came in and got bored with it.” Sid replied as the boys in the choir snickered.
“What’s “Pale?” Paulie now asked Jesse, David and Bobby.
“Pale is the name of a song; A whiter shade of pale. It’s a song by Procol Harum.” Jesse replied.
“Uncle Sid and Uncle Adam usually play it together, but Uncle Kevin knows how to play it on piano too.” David told the boy. “You never heard it before?” He asked.
“I don’t know.” Replied Paulie.
As Paulie watched Sid turn on his Hammond B-3 organ and set up the instrument, the choir and spectators surrounded both Kevin and Sid spontaneously. Once the organ warmed up and the Leslie 122 speakers began rotating slowly, Paulie listened intently as the sound of the organ filled the Rec Hall and the opening bars of Pale reverberated off the walls. Sid does not consider himself a singer, however when it comes to Pale, his voice is fairly indiscernible from that of Gary Brooker, the lead singer of Procol Harum.
For the second time that morning, Paulie was stunned as Sid began the song, joined by every single boy and girl there singing along. It was clear to the boy that these people regarded this particular piece of music with a very special reverence usually reserved for Classical Music by his own family.
Not completely unexpectedly, the music now flowing from the Rec Hall started an influx of people waiting outside. Vesper Services were always held “In the round” whether they were held inside or outside, and the seats began quietly filing up with the Camp Kenny children taking up the first 3 rows of benches that surrounded the stage.
Pale is normally a 4 minute song, but on this particular morning, Sid extended it for 10 minutes, and by the time it closed, most of the camp were seated or standing around the back of the benches with toddlers and babies who were just not ready to settle down just yet. Christopher had already galloped into the Hall and promptly plopped himself onto Sid’s lap frothing at the bit to get his hands on the keyboards.
Paulie watched the Services with great interest. Like the rest of his family, he was not particularly religious and merely considered himself a Christian. Now, he half expected to see and hear a Sermon and some prayers, but Green Tree’s idea of Christianity and his families were fairly identical.
The closest thing to a Pastor was Uncle Peter, and he pretty much served as the Camp’s Spiritual Head. As a former Catholic Priest, Father Peter retained his position as far as the children and adults of Green Tree were concerned, notwithstanding what the Pope thought about the situation.
After the welcome, Paulie heard more about love, respect, consideration and understanding being taught by Peter than talk of God, salvation or damnation. Probably the closest thing Peter came to religion was the prayer he gave at the end of Vespers asking for God’s blessings and thanks for the children’s health and well-being. It was the only “Amen” he heard all morning.
“See, I told you they would all start bawling.” Jesse said as Spencer finished his solo of Pie Jesu for the group. Paulie looked around and watched as more than a few of the adults had to wipe their eyes.
Following Vespers, the entire campus once again gathered on the lawn before lunch. “Hey Uncle Adam, how come nobody told the twins about poop day?” Sammy asked his counselor as he approached the bench Adam and a group of staff were sitting on.
“I’m not aware of any “Poop Day” Sammy, what are you talking about?” Adam asked the boy.
“You know when Uncle John makes us them prune Danish it’s poop day.” Sammy told the man.
“Well, nobody made them eat them did they? Did you tell the twins not to eat them or they would be going to the bathroom?” Adam asked as a few staff chuckled.
“I wasn’t sittin by them. I didn’t know they ate them until they started shittin.” Sammy replied.
“You mean went to the bathroom, right?” Adam asked the boy.
Sammy shook his head. “They didn’t go to the bathroom Uncle Adam, they shit in their pants.” The boy replied. “Twice”.
“Well, shit happens Sammy. What about you?” Adam asked as the boys now giggled.
“I went to the bathroom, but we knew it was comin. They didn’t realize they had to go so fast and thought it was just a normal poop.” Sammy replied. “I don’t think they ever ate prunes before.” He said.
“Well, next time they will know better.” Adam told the boys. “Yeah, and next time, there won’t be shit all over the bathroom floor.” Michael replied with a giggle.
“Serves you right for being so stupid Uncle Adam.” Sid now told his friend as the boys giggled even more. Adam lowered his head and shook it as the boys went giggling off towards the lake. “I owe you one.” Adam said to Sid.
Sid chuckled as he sat down at the table. “You get your chance at lunch. You and I are going to get into a watermelon eating contest, and I’ll let you win.” Sid told his friend.
“Watermelon contest?” Dr. Lester asked. Sid nodded his head. “Watermelon is a natural diuretic and it’s full of water. The older boys know the effect prunes will have on them and many avoid eating it. By getting them involved in a watermelon eating contest, we fill them up with melon and let it finish the job. By 2:00 every kid in camp will have the cleanest bowels in town and be re-hydrated.” Sid told the Doctor.
“And they don’t know it’s caused by the watermelon?” Dr. Lester asked. “Doc, we got the most beautiful boys in the world, but we never said they was the smartest.” Sid replied as the staff laughed.
“I’m happy to see that you’re all in a good mood. You’re going to need it in about an hour, we have 3 tractor trailers coming onto campus in about an hour and the kids are going to realize that the Dentists aren’t all that far away.” Bert now told the group as he sat down on the table next to Sid.
“Dentists?” Dr. Lester asked.
Burt nodded his head. “Twice a year we have all the children’s teeth, hearing and eyesight checked by our Doctors from The Institute. The tractor trailers haul all the equipment here they need, and they will be flying in today with our guests from the Vineyards.” Burt told the Doctor.
“On one little plane?” Sid now asked.
Burt shook his head. “The Gulfstream had to be scrapped for a 727. There’s 3 dozen Doctors, technicians and Assistance involved for the children, and almost a dozen folks involved with the Vineyard crew.” Bert replied.
“A dozen? I thought there were 4 coming from the Vineyard.” Sid now said.
“Plus a few folks from the New Hampshire School along with some rugrats from the Vineyards who asked to join their parents.” Bert replied.
“Speaking of Vineyard rugrats, are we all aware of the fact that Spencer seems to have taken Paulie as an Outside Uncle?” Kevin now said to the group.
“I was kind of hoping it’s nothing more than a summer camp romance on Spencer’s part.” Sid said as he turned to watch Spencer interact with Paulie and a group of boys on the lawn. “We still have Anthony in the picture.”
“I think it’s a little more serious than a summer camp romance. Paulie asked me to have a talk with him last night after the Music ended. It appears he wants Spencer to return to the Vineyards with David and Jesse so that they can all go to Andover Academy together. He asked me to be his Primary Uncle.” Doctor Lester now told the group. “He wants me to speak to you all on his behalf.” He concluded.
“He’s not a Geppetto Boy, since when can he claim a Primary Uncle?” Sid now asked Bert. “Are you going to go along with the bullshit?” he asked.
“Calm down Sid. Nothing’s happening without the team’s OK. Obviously he’s being coached, probably by Spencer himself.” Bert replied. “We’ve been telling Paulie for weeks that he’s a part of us, if that’s so, isn’t he entitled to the same protections?” he asked Sid.
“Look on the bright side Sid, he could have asked one of the girls to be his Primary Aunt.” Adam suggested to ease Sid’s demeanor which was quickly changing.
“I don’t give a fuck who his Primary guardian is, he ain’t leaving with those boys!” Sid said as he stood up and headed for his cart.
Bert shook his head and smiled a little as Sid rolled down the path in his cart headed for the Cove. “You’ll have to excuse Sid’s behavior Doctor, never once has Sid been the first to allow a boy to move on from Green Tree, and I doubt that it’s going to happen in this case.” Bert told the man.
“You believe he’s too attached to Spencer?” The Doctor asked. A giggle from the adults around him told the man he was missing something.
“It ain’t Spencer Doc, but he purely does love him. It’s Jesse that has him in a lather and it’s going to take a bulldozer or two to move him off center if that’s what the team agrees to.” Bert replied.
“You’re considering it?” Adam now asked.
“I’m considering nothing. I haven’t been asked to consider anything yet, and we don’t even know if Paulie’s family would even entertain such a scenario. Before I get my blood pressure rising, I need a reason.” Bert replied.
Returning to the Cove after Vespers, Sammy, along with a dozen or so members of the mafia headed either for the bathroom to deal with their prunes, or to the bedrooms to engage in some romping. Very little conversation needed to be forthcoming from the boys since a pair of pants dropping to the floor or a swinging erection flowing back and forth on an abdomen was all the invitation needed to start the party. As Sammy lay down on his back, both Chris and Matty dropped their pants to their ankles and stepped out of them as they climbed onto the bed.
“Ya want Lollipops or Pussy?” Chris asked Sammy as Matty climbed onto Sammy’s chest and sat on it with his penis touching the tip of Sammy’s nose playfully. “It don’t matter, you can do Pussy if you want, but give me tingles when ya do.” Sammy replied as he peeled back Matty’s foreskin. Sammy studied the bluish purple rounded head of his friend that glistened in the sunlight once it was open to the air. Blowing some air onto the tip, Matty’s penis twitched involuntarily as Sammy then placed the crown into both his nostrils to retain the aroma of Matty’s penis as he breathed. As he did, his head swirled from the intoxicating smell of his friend’s penis. This was the elixir of love that made anything they would do in the next few minutes as exciting and inviting as any activity they ever knew. It beat ice cream and it beat baseball, and even more important, it felt even better.
As Matty’s penis slid onto Sammy’s tongue and was drawn in by the suction, Sammy pulled his friends buttocks onto his neck as he buried his face in Matty’s groin. There was no more concentration for any of the boys as Sammy’s legs were lifted up and Chris moved himself into position behind Sammy. Taking Sammy’s penis into his mouth, Chris soaked it in his saliva and then took the wet organ in his hand and began making love to Sammy as his penis slid towards Sammy’s prostate with an ease and experience of an organ that knew the way by heart. It was Sunday and there was no hurry, if they were all wise, the next 5 or 10 minutes would be time well spent.
For as far back as any of the boys could remember, how they achieved “Tingles” or for that matter with whom was unimportant. The only thing that did matter was that you achieved orgasm as well as the people you were playing with, and until everybody did, the play wasn’t finished.
“No fair Benji, you ain’t thinking about fucking, you’re just laying there.” Andy told the twin as he backed off the boys cherry red erection. “Do you wanna get tingles or don’t you?” he asked.
“Whatcha mean I ain’t thinking about fucking? How would you know?” Benji asked.
“That’s stupid, of course you know when somebody’s not thinking about tingles. Your dick is just sitting there, it ain’t getting hard and twitching.” Andy replied as he looked at the twin’s erection. It sat on the boy’s hairless groin glistening with saliva. Probably a little less than 3 inches, it stood straight and tall, but not with the rigidity of an excited boy’s cock. Andy also noticed that the boy’s testicles sat on the bottom of his sack, and were not pulled up against his groin. Andy knew that Benji was thinking, but not about sex.
Benji flexed his penis and felt it move. “I gots a boner, you just ain’t doin it right.” The boy said as he giggled.
“Bullshit! There’s only one way to suck on a boner, and you gotta think about it while it’s being done. If you ain’t thinking about fucking, we’ll never get to go swimming before lunch stupid!” Andy replied. “Concentrate” he said as he took Benji’s penis back into his mouth and drew the boy’s foreskin back around his tongue.
Benji giggled as Andy’s hand moved his balls up into position. It was time to party and forget about going boating with his friends.
Within 15 minutes most of the mafia were out on Turtle Rock in the middle of the Cove. They knew they only had a short time to swim before lunch and they intended to make the most of the time they had.
The appearance of Sid’s golf cart on the path along the lakes edge only increased the excitement of the group. “Are Uncle Charlie’s boys out there? Is Jesse?” Sid asked the boys as he shouted from the shore. A chorus of “No” and a bunch of the children pointing across the lake to Charlie’s cabin drew Sid’s attention to a distant gaggle of boys swinging off a rope and dropping into the water with a splash. Waving, Sid got back in his cart and headed around the back of the lake.
About the only difference between the scene in the cove that greeted Sid when he stopped there and the scene he now looked upon was the age and amount of boys who swam with well tanned bottoms diving and jumping into the lake. Sid spotted David, Paulie, Spencer and Jesse playing in a swamped canoe and called them into shore with a wave.
Retreating to the cabin as the boys paddled themselves ashore, Sid retrieved a beer from the fridge and sat down on the back porch waiting for the boys to land.
“Ain’t you gonna come and swim with us Uncle Sid?” David asked as he stepped out onto the back porch drying himself with a towel.
“Right now David, I need to have Talk Time with you guys. Tell me about these grand plans you seem to have about going North.” Sid said as David leaned down to give the man a kiss.
“What grand plans? You mean about me going to school with Uncle Paulie?” David asked as the rest of the crew now appeared on the porch with glasses full of ice tea and gave Sid the customary kiss before sitting down.
“And what else have you boys been hatching behind the scenes? Your Uncle Bert has just been told that Paulie has made Uncle Poppe his Primary Uncle. We’ve also been advised that we’re expected to approve Spencer and Jesse going away to school with Uncle Paulie too. Something tells me this little plan didn’t develop in Uncle Paulie’s crafty little mind, it took a Geppetto boy to come up with this.” Sid said to the boys gathered around him while he looked directly at Spencer.
“What did Uncle Bert say?” David now asked.
“What do you think he said? Sid asked the boy.
“You know that they are going to have a meeting about it, they always have them dumb meetings” Jesse told his friends. “Was Aunt Jeanette and Aunt Gloria there? What did they say about Spencer leaving?” Jesse asked Sid.
Sid shook his head. “What Jesse needs to be concerned about isn’t what Spencer’s Primary Aunt said or did not say, but what Jesse’s Primary Uncle had to say about Jesse leaving.” Sid told the boy.
“I don’t gotta worry about that Uncle Sid; if I wanna go, you gotta speak for me. It’s the rules.” Jesse replied.
“You guys think you have the rules down pretty darn pat, don’t you? Yes, if you want to leave to go to school I have to advocate for you with the team, but nowhere in the rules does it say how hard I have to do that advocating. My advice could be over-ruled by the team if you recall.” Sid told the boy.
“You don’t think it’s a good idea?” Jesse asked.
“I don’t know what I think yet Jesse, my Primary Nephew hasn’t even bothered to ask me yet.” Sid replied pointedly.
“I want to stay with David and Spencer Uncle Sid, what’s the matter with that? You already know we all love each other and have always been friends. I don’t want to stay here all alone.” Jesse told the man.
Sid half smiled. “If David goes off to school Jesse, this place will hardly be empty. The decision to send a boy off to school has never been made solely on the basis of his friendships towards the other boys here. It’s one factor amongst many that need to be discussed by the team, and in the end, what is best for the individual boy is what matters the most.” Sid said.
“What’cha mean just David? Did Uncle Bert say I couldn’t go?” Spencer now asked.
“So far, only David has been approved to go North. If anybody else is going to be on that plane, it’s going to be put before your teams first. Isn’t that the way it has always worked around here?” Sid asked all the boys. “As far as I know, nobody has even bothered to ask Paulie’s family what they think about this little party you guys have cooked up for yourselves. Maybe we need to talk about it first?” Sid asked.
“My family loves Jesse and Spencer as much as they love David. They’ll let them come.” Paulie now said.
Again, Sid smiled. “Paulie, it has nothing to do with love. If it did, none of the boys would ever leave Green Tree. Sending David to Andover Academy is risky. Sending 3 Geppetto Boys to Andover is 10 times more risky. You guys don’t lead “Normal” lives, not even you. One small slip and you could be hauled off to God knows where and your families and this school could be shut down and destroyed. Sex scares the hell out of “Normal” people Paulie, and children having sex scares the hell out of them even more.”
“You already said that we can’t be kept in a cage all our lives Uncle Sid. We know that people are afraid of us because we know the truth about sex stuff and we know how to keep them from knowing how we live.” Jesse said.
“Besides Uncle Sid. Uncle Paulie has lived with outsiders all his life. If there’s something we don’t know, he can teach us.” David said.
“I’m not telling you that you cannot go, all I’m telling you is that it’s a team decision, and the team will make the one that is best for you.” Sid said.
“They usually say that when the answer is going to be “No”. Spencer now told Jesse. “We have the right to be at the team meetings. I’m going to tell Aunt Jeanette that I want to be there, you should be there too.” Spencer told his friend.
“Maybe instead of becoming a Ship’s Captain, you might want to become a lawyer.” Sid told the boy as he finished his beer. “Let’s get ready for lunch.”
Lunch was halfway through when a low rumble got louder and louder from the direction of the path leading to the Camp’s front gate. This was a highly unusual event, since the only vehicles allowed on the path were camp trucks and an occasional security vehicle with a guest on board.
As the first of 3 massive tractor trailers appeared in the clearing, the Camp Kenny children and more than a few Junior Boys campers stood on the benches to watch the trucks park alongside Bert’s cabin and shut down with air breaks hissing.
“We gots to get our teeth cleaned again already?” Sammy asked Adam as he stood next to his counselor.
“It shouldn’t be a problem if you’ve been brushing your teeth regularly. You have, haven’t you?” Adam asked the boy.
“No fair Uncle Adam! No matter how many times we brush our teeth, they still find cavities.” Chris said as he sat down and started eating again. “Does we have to have our ears looked at too?” He asked.
“Life’s a bitch Chris, they just want to keep poking and prodding you to annoy you.” Sid said as he watched the drivers now approaching the tables. Twice a year the drivers came to Green Tree with their trucks, and each time, they were the same people. Since all the drivers came from the New Hampshire School, these men were Geppetto Boys themselves and known by most staff as personal friends.
“Hey Uncle Sid, did you put a cooler full of beer on ice for us?” one of the lead truckers asked as he approached Sid’s table and gave the man a huge hug.
Sid slid over on the bench and made some room for the driver as one of the girls placed a plate and silverwear in front of him. “Why? Have they lowered the drinking age in New Hampshire?” Sid asked the man as Jesse handed the man a bottle of beer.
“Not that I know of, but I’ll bet that you feed this boy your beer just like you fed me beer when I was a kid.” He replied with the boys around the table giggling. “As I recall, I got my first taste at about age 6. How old were you when this old turkey stuck a nipple on your first beer?” he asked Jesse.
“Don’t listen to him Jesse, Donald just likes to think he’s too old at 19 to have his knickers lowered to his ankles and get his ass tanned again.” Sid replied.
“You boys don’t mean to tell me that Uncle Sid is still pretending to be handing out discipline when he spanks you is he? We all knew that the only reason he kept my bottom red was because I had the sweetest looking ass in school and he couldn’t keep his hands off it.” The driver said as the boys giggled all the more.
“The fattest, maybe. But the sweetest? Not by a long shot! You just forgot what a miserable little wretch you were not so long ago.” Sid replied.
“Did ya bring us stuff like you said you would?” Sammy now boldly asked.
“Did we promise you we would Sammy?” Donald asked.
“You remember my name?” Sammy asked.
“You’re a tough little dude to forget. I don’t remember everybody’s name, but you’re all pretty familiar looking, and it won’t take much to remember them again.” He replied.
“What’s my name?” Matty now asked.
“You’re the shy little boy who wouldn’t talk to us a few years ago, but now, not only do you talk, you ask strangers questions. That’s mighty impressive. Your name is Matty if I recall rightly.” Donald said to the now beaming boy.
“What about the presents?” Chris now wanted to know. “You did promise us presents.” He told the man.
“Nothing wrong with their memories, now if we can work on their manners, we’ll have something going for us.” Sid said to the boys.
“A promise made is a promise meant to be kept. We’ll distribute the presents after dinner, when they will be a little more handy to have.” Donald said as the boys erupted in smiles.
Lunch progressed with table talk discussing where the trucks had travelled and what the drivers saw along the way. For security reasons, only truckers or bus drivers who were Geppetto Boys themselves could supply the different schools and camps and were allowed on the property. This particular group of trucks supplied the routine medical needs of the children, and had developed a rapport with each facility. They were “On the road” for 2 months in the spring, and 2 months in the fall, and the rest of the time drove stand-by for charter bus needs of the facilities.
As lunch ended, the obligatory watermelon eating contest was held, and as promised, Adam “Won” as Sid declared him the winner. With most of the children now dealing with at least a quart of watermelon chunks in their tummies, if not more, the problems of dehydration and constipation were now fairly nil. However the array of training pants and pull-ups on the younger set looked like a convention of diaper makers has arrived to show off their wares.
“Is this the latest trend? It seems to me most of these kids ran around in their birthday suits if the temperature rose above 60 degrees” Donald’s driving partner Alan said as the men walked towards the big rigs to allow the Camp Kenny children to climb all over them.
“You just happened to show up on Poop Day. We didn’t do it in your honor, it was Doctor Ordered.” Bert told the group of drivers.
“I didn’t know there were so many different kinds of diapers out there. When we were kids, there were either white ones, or white ones. Even the underwear was white except for the Underroos that Uncle Barry and Uncle Sid bought for us.” Donald replied.“Today plain white is almost extinct. To try to keep the little ones under cover, we scour the world to find underpants that will keep the boys under wraps. Since the girls arrived, the sight of a swinging set of balls somehow became “Gross” or “Obnoxious” to the 13 and 14 year olds. The boys’ favorites are the French and Israeli styles. For whatever reason, their designers seem to think that boys under the age of six have no genitals and that all boys always pull their underpants down to the ground and sit down to piss.” Sid replied to chuckles.
“The good news is that the younger Intermediate boys are much more willing to cover up. They like the Looney Tunes and Cartoon character stuff and are much more willing to slide into a pair of pull-ups when the need arises than they were in the old days.” Bert added.
“So things have changed since Uncle Sid and Uncle Barry wanted us in diapers just for kicks?” a driver asked.
“Ya see that Doc? Ya spend your life treating these ungrateful little retches like gold, and these are the thanks you get.” Sid replied to laughter.
“So what’s going on Uncle Bert? Two days ago we were following a schedule written a year ago, and then all hell broke loose. We were scheduled to go to Oregon from the Snake River School, and we get re-routed overnight to you. The New Hampshire dispatcher says that Uncle Matthew has been holed up with Harvard and our Doctors now for a week, and he’s on a plane right now headed here. Uncle Matthew and Uncle Barry are almost never away from School at the same time. What’s wrong?” Donald asked.
“Let’s not discuss what you boys already know with anybody until tonight. After Taps we have a Senior Staff meeting and you boys are welcome to join in. Your questions will be answered at that time. OK?” Bert asked.
“Is everybody OK? Nobody is dying, right?” Donald asked the Administrator.
“Nobody’s dying Donald, at least not if you don’t keep bad mouthing your Uncles.” Bert replied with a chuckle.
The activity now surrounding the massive big rigs was more like an army of ants discovering a honey spill than a group of children inspecting the trucks. The only place they were not yet on was the roofs of the cabs, and that was only because they couldn’t scale the windshields. All three custom made, identical rigs, were painted candy apple black with chrome trim and once transformed into operational mode, contained enough clinical office space to handle 36 patients at a time.
However, the children were not interested in what was in the trailers, they were after the “Horses” that pulled the trailers. Three brand new, custom designed Volvos with state of the art electronics including stereos, TV, computer and phone systems along with a mini-kitchen, bath and shower and living area rivaled only in a luxury motor coach.
These rigs were not only built to serve their function, they were intended to draw new students into the driver vocational program run at the New Hampshire School for the boys. The students have a wide array of vocational studies they could go into if they were not planning on an academic career, and all are designed to keep them safe and out of trouble in the “Outside” world, as they know it.
By age 16, the boys decide which direction they want to go in, and one of the most popular is becoming a long-haul trucker working for companies that are either owned by groups of Geppetto Boys, or by the schools they are trained at. Quite possibly, the boys now using the rigs as a jungle gym would become part of the graduating class of 2020 or so.
“Can you take us for a ride around the lake?” Caleb asked as he and Scotty watched Donald unlock the cabs door.
“These trucks are so big and so heavy that they can only be driven on special roads. The road around the lake isn’t wide enough, or strong enough to hold us up. When we move them into position to transform them, you can sit in the cabs with us if you’d like.” The driver told the boys.
“When?” Scotty asked as Donald picked him up and placed him on the running board.
“First we have to prepare the staging position for the clinics with electric, sewer and water lines, then we move the trucks. Probably after Rest Hour.” Dave replied.
“You won’t move them until after we come back?” Caleb now asked.
“We will wait until after you have your Rest Hour. I promise.” Donald replied with a smile.
For the next 10 minutes or so, each cab became the private clubhouse of a few dozen small fry of both sexes as they crawled into every nook and cranny of the rigs interior and pushed or pulled every button and toggle they could find. Call to Quarters was not the most welcome sound they heard that day, they were still trying to figure out where the horn button was as they were ushered out of the truck and trotted off up the hill to their cabins.
“So what do you think? Have you signed up the next class yet?” Bert asked Donald as the drivers now joined the Senior staff in Bert’s cabin for the afternoon meeting.
“At that age, we’re still coming in dead last to firemen, jet pilots and cowboys. I had one good prospect all lined up, but once he found out that the rig doesn’t fly, he thought better of it.” The man said with a chuckle.
“Sounds like Caleb.” Sid said.
“Actually, it was Billy, but Caleb did agree with him.” Sarah told the group.
Once the staff all assembled and sat down, Bert began the meeting. “There’s been some changes to the schedule, and we have the Dentists, Audiologists and Ophthalmologists coming in by bus from the airport around 4:00 this afternoon. Nothing will be scheduled for today, but tomorrow you will all have a schedule for the children’s exams.” He began.
“We also have Matthew and a few specialists coming in with him, along with several of Thomas’s family from The Vineyard. They will be flying into the FEMA Depot by helicopter and be here in about 2 hours.” He said
“The newest wrinkle is that there are going to be several of the Vineyard children with them, and that’s going to need some clarification for our children. I’m told the children are all males, and they’re all of Intermediate age.”
“Sounds like fun. Are they going to be off-limits to our boys?” Sid asked.
“Matthew discussed that with their parents. These boys have been with Jesse, David, Spencer and Bobby up in the Vineyard and they’re fully aware that Green Tree boys are raised pretty much the same way they are being raised. They do not know anything about Geppetto, nor do we want them to know. They merely believe that we raise our children as openly and freely as their parents raise them, and that it’s something we do not divulge to outsiders. Basically, they are raised by the same rules our children are raised by, they have to stick within their certain age groups, and they have to have, and give consent to “Play” with each other, if that’s what they want to do.” Bert replied.
“What about our girls?” Gloria now asked.
“At home, they are under no restrictions with regards to the girls until they reach puberty. We’ve explained what our policies are regarding vaginal intercourse for Intermediate Girls, and they will be instructed by their parents to abide by our rules while they are here.” Bert replied.
“And who is going to “Instruct” our girls? I’m thinking specifically about Carla and Jeannie.” Johanna asked.
“Since both girls are in Adam’s cabin, they’re his problem. Do you want to fit them with chastity belts or send them to Helen until the boys are gone?” Bert asked Adam.
Adam shook his head as the group chuckled. “I’ve managed to keep their hymens intact so far, I think I can keep the gates closed a little longer.” He told his Director.
“Just remember that these are going to be brand-new fresh penises on some never seen before boys. Fresh meat is always a little more tempting than the same old fare.” Sid said as the group chuckled even more.
“My understanding is that the Vineyard boys are all circumcised. My observations have been that both girls are equal opportunity lollipoppers, but they do have a preference for snipped winkies.” Adam told the group.
“Lollipoppers?” Doctor Lester asked.
“It’s a euphemism the children use for oral sex. A lollipop is an erect penis. A lollipopper is one who sucks on that penis. Can you take a wild guess which pervert came up with that quant term?” Gloria asked the Doctor as she looked at Sid.
“Oh, so you think we should have the kids walking around asking each other to suck each others dicks instead? Doesn’t “Lollipop” have a more socially acceptable ring to it?” Sid asked as the rest of the group chuckled.
After things settled down a bit Doctor Lester returned to the subject matter. “Why do you think the girls have a preference for circumcised boys?” he asked Adam.
“I asked the girls that question.” Adam replied. “They told me that they liked both types, but that the circumcised boys had cleaner penises, that the boys who had “Baldies” were “Easier” to excite, and that they were more sexually attractive to look at and play with. They’re also both convinced that a circumcised penis “Knows” when it’s being looked at, because when they stare at one, it goes erect immediately.” Adam said with a smile.
“And this has nothing to do with the fact that the boy knows his Johnson is being looked over?” Johanna asked.
“Hey, I don’t make that claim, the girls did!” Adam replied as another round of chuckles ensued.
Following the meeting, the staff returned to their respective cabins while Doctor Lester, along with Bert and the truckers went to the cove with Adam, Sid, Kevin, Dan and Thomas. There was still a half hour or so of Rest Period left, and the drivers were spoiling for a dip in the lake.
Having been raised at the New Hampshire School and being fully aware of the rules and regulations concerning nudity at Green Tree, the drivers shorts and shirts were abandoned a full 10 to 15 feet away from the water as the swim to Turtle Rock took on the air of a race as Adam and Kevin went into the cabin to load up some coolers.
The first two staff of on the Rock with the drivers were Sid and Barry. As both men climbed onto the Rock and sat down, several drivers approached Barry. “What’s the big secret Uncle Barry?” the lead driver asked.
“It’s no big secret boys. Uncle Bert will explain everything tonight just as he told you he would. It’s not a big deal.” He told the men.
“That’s bullshit Uncle Barry. Something big is going on and all eyes and ears are looking straight at Green Tree. Too many people are telling us “Everything’s fine”. We know better.” The driver pressed.
“None of the children have been told, and only upper staff here are aware of what’s going on. It will stay that way until your Uncle Bert tells them differently. Right?” Sid now said.
“Yes”, replied Donald.
“I’m going into the hospital for a routine surgery on Tuesday. I’ll be back here on Wednesday, and you boys will be back on the road as soon as the children’s exams have been completed. Your Uncle Bert and Uncle Matthew are concerned that some of the younger children will be a little confused by the hospitalization, and want to make sure everything goes smoothly for them. That’s the extent of the big deal.” Sid said.
“What kind of surgery?” one of the drivers asked.
“Doctors like to operate. Sometimes they want to take out your tonsils, or adenoids. Sometimes they want your appendix. They did some tests and want to take out my prostate.” Sid replied. “Everybody has to make a living, so I told them OK.”
“Why?” Donald asked.
“Apparently they say it’s not working right, so they want it out. I don’t know, I ain’t a Doctor.” Sid replied.
“Why don’t they just fix it? Why do they have to take it out?” a driver asked.
“Why don’t they just fix the tonsils or the appendix? I guess it’s cheaper to take it out than to fix it.” Sid said. “Anyway, that what’s going on and until your Uncle Bert tells the rest of the Camp, what you now know stays with you. Is that understood?” Sid told the drivers.
“Is he lying to us Uncle Barry?” one of the drivers now asked.
“I have not heard him utter one lie boys.” Barry told the boys.
“Lie? Me?” Sid said as he stood up. “Which one of you big, brave boys wants to get their asses thrown into the lake first?”
All was fine for now, but all the drivers had access to the internet in their trucks and were raised to be inquisitive and gain knowledge.
As the bugle signaled the end of Rest Period, Sammy awoke sandwiched in between Carla and Matty. Feeling the pressure now on his bladder, he reached down and placed a chock hold on his penis. “I gots to take a piss.” He said as Matty slowly stirred.
Walking into the bathroom, Sammy searched for a spare spot to wiggle himself around one of the 4 urinals that lined the wall. “Is Uncle Adam here?” Jeffrey asked as he made some room for Sammy.
“Most of the staff are out on Turtle Rock with the truckers, but there’s a bunch of them on the front porch too.” Michael replied from 2 bowls away. “I didn’t see Uncle Adam, but Uncle Sid is out there with the truckers, so Uncle Adam is probably somewhere in the Cove.” The boy said as the last dribbles fell to the bowl.The boys in the bathroom said nothing, but they agreed that if Sid was in the Cove, Adam would not be very far away.
“What’cha putting pants on for? Ain’t you going swimming? Gavin asked several boys who were putting on either shorts or pull-ups, or both. “Heck no! The drivers are going to be setting up the trucks now. And besides, we ain’t done shittin yet. If you’re smart, you won’t go too far away from a toilet and you better keep some pants on if you don’t want to end up shittin in front of the girls!” one of the boys replied to some giggling around him.
“Ya shit in front of us didn’t ya?” Carla now said a bit miffed.
“You two ain’t girls, you’re one of us.” Sammy replied.
Probably a year earlier both Jeannie and Carla would have put on broad smiles to that comment, but that was 12 months down the road and both girls were now in the middle of puberty. The baby fat was giving way to curved hips, a small but healthy set of breasts, and the beginnings of two mighty impressive looking vaginas. They still climbed trees and rode horses with the best of the boys, but there was a lot more attention being paid to their hair and looks than would have been seen earlier, and romping with 12 boys was being given up for romping with a select few to share their finer attributes with.
“Yeah, you’re boys without dicks!” Matty said with a grin.
The stampede out of the cabin was lead by Matty with Carla and Jeannie not so far behind him. Adam watched as the girls overtook the younger boy on the front lawn and had his pants off and his penis being stretched in one direction and his balls the other. “It’s OK Uncle Adam, they ain’t really gonna rip his balls off, they’s just kidding around.” Sammy said as he handed Adam a brush and sat down on his counselor’s lap.
“Good to know. Was it something he did?” Adam asked as he started to brush Sammy’s hair.
Doctor Lester chuckled as the twins now took over both his knees as the boys straddled his legs. “Nice undies. Are you two going going formal now?” The doctor asked.
“What’s that mean?” Gavin asked the man.
“Well, usually by now the both of you would be heading for the rock bare assed naked. Now you sit here on the porch with me in these spiffy underpants that look brand new. I think I remember buying them for you, but I don’t recall seeing them covering your butts. Have I?” he asked the boys.
“These ain’t the underpants you bought for us Poppy, These is the ones we got from Uncle Peter at the Camp Store. Uncle Peter gave everybody in Camp new clothes for the fall.” Benji said as he ran his fingers over the pants. “He says these will keep us warmer when it starts to get cold. I don’t think there’s going to be a winter this year, the leaves is still here.” He continued.
Doctor smiled as he hugged both the boys and chuckled a bit. “I don’t know, I think if I were you boys, I would trust that Uncle Peter is correct, and that the heavier clothing will be coming in handy one of these days. In a few weeks, the leaves will be turning colors, the lake will be too cold to swim in, and it’ll be dark by the time you leave the Mess Hall from dinner.”
“And you’re going to still be here?” Gavin asked.
“I’m going to be a telephone call or an e-mail away from here, but no, I have to see the other boys at our schools all over the Country and make sure they’re as happy and well taken care of as you two are here at Green Tree. I’ll be back for Thanksgiving and probably Christmas, but if anything pops up and I’m needed here before that, I can jump on a jet and be here mighty quick.” He told the boys.
“Like if we get sick?” Benji asked.
“That’s one reason I could be back, but if you got sick, who would be better to take care of you than Uncle Thomas or Aunt Sarah? I might be a handy guy to have around for some good Talk Time, but if I were sick, I would much rather be being taken care of by Uncle Adam or in the Infirmary.” The Doctor replied.
“But if we needed you, you would come?” Gavin pressed.
“If you needed me, you would hear the helicopter landing in the Depot.” Dr. Lester replied.
Whether it was the arrival of Sid and Barry on the beach with the drivers, or the squeals coming from Matty as the girls mercilessly poked and tickled him, the porch was emptied of children in a mad dash down the stairs.
“I’m not sure who’s going to be taking my leaving this place harder; the boys, or myself.” The Doctor said as he watched the twins pile onto the mass of humanity that was now covering Carla, Jeannie and Matty on the lawn.
“They most certainly move at a much slower pace and are a lot harder to get a smile from when you first depart, but they’re pretty much engulfed in attention and activity until they get their depression back under control. Within a day or two, they’re back in the swing of things. For us as adults, it takes a bit longer to “Let go” of them.” Kevin said as Bert’s cart rounded the trail into the cove.
Setting up the trailers which would be used for the next week to conduct the necessary semi-annual medical and dental work on the campers was like watching the building of a sky scraper, but in super high speed motion. The scene always captivated the campers, largely because it was like watching butterflies morph, or seeing real-live transformers in action.
Each trailer unfolded electronically and hydraulically into a fully self contained office platform, all at the push of a button and with wide eyed wonderment. This was like watching the circus tent go up, but without the elephants.
With calculated precision, each trailer was placed in position, and one by one, an 8 foot by 100 foot box trailer became a 20 foot by 100 foot dental office, hearing clinic or Optical lab. In 20 minutes flat, the complex lacked only the staff that it needed to operate the clinic, and they were already preparing for landing at Winston-Salem.
For almost all of the campers, it was an adventure to watch. For Christopher, it was practically a sexual orgasm.
With the hair on the back of his neck standing straight up and shaking like a leaf in excitement, Doctor Lester watched the boy expecting him to emotionally explode at any moment. Christopher had already gone through three pairs of coveralls after letting his bladder go, and with hands still twisting between his groin in excitement, the boy flew from one event to the other determined not to miss a movement of the massive machinery.
“Has anybody ever checked his heart rate or blood pressure when he gets like this? I’ve seen some excited children before, but this boy is practically levitating off the ground.” Doctor Lester asked Bert.
“It’s kind of like transference, Doc. We get off by getting laid. For Christopher, this is a combination blow job, anal and screw all rolled into one. I’ve never been able to figure out which one of us has found the better way. I’d be real depressed if I ever found out he’s not creaming his pants off somewhere deep down inside of himself.” Sid replied.
Bert looked at his second in command and shook his head. “Sid sees something sexual in a banana cream pie. You’ll have to forgive his ignorance, he just assumes that everybody in the world sees it through his eyes. Christopher’s excitement is emotional, not anything sexual.” Bert told Dr. Lester.
“I’ll go along with the fact that he doesn’t have the tools to finish the job, but when we see him holding his Johnson in a choke hold and it’s as stiff as anything I can conjure up, he’s getting off somehow, even if his balls ain’t taking part. One of these days that boy is going to have one of these “Emotional” flings, and he’s going to be sitting down and lighting a cigarette. Maybe then King Solomon here will give the boy credit for a job well done.” Sid replied while more than a few chuckles began.
“Maybe Sid needs a refresher course in human sexuality Doctor. Would you like to explain to him what being a eunuch means?” Bert said.
“There’s certainly no sex as far as we understand the term, but Christopher will be quite capable of having sexual intercourse as a adult. His nerve bundles that control erections are intact, and that means he can sustain an erection if he so chooses. He also has an intact prostate gland which produces testosterone in his system. Granted it’s not much, but he will probably maintain a testosterone level of between 100 to 150 or so. That’s not much when you consider the average man is somewhere around 700 or so, but whether it’s enough to keep him interested is another matter. Let’s not forget, a man does not need an erection in order to climax, but he does need one if he’s going to engage in penetration.” Doctor Lester replied.
“You think it’s possible he will be able to procreate?” Adam asked.
“Absolutely not. When his testicles atrophied, that ability instantly vanished. However, as history can tell you, eunuchs were able to keep their partners extremely sexually happy despite the fact that they themselves were infertile and gained little self pleasure with the sex act. I remember reading about one particular Castrati who could keep either men or women happy for hours on end. His abilities were legendary at the time, and women would beg him to take them to their bed. For them, it was the ultimate in “Safe sex”. They didn’t need to douche and there was no possibility they were going to become pregnant and get their husbands upset.”
“And what does Christopher get out of it?” Bert asked.
“Even for Christopher, it’s not exactly unpleasant for him to be orally copulated. Balls or no balls, most of the plumbing and ALL of the nerves are still intact. He’s not going to be filling anybody’s cup with sperm, but I don’t think he’s going to be demanding they stop anytime soon. Do you?” Doctor Lester asked.
“You think it’s OK for other people to take advantage of him?” Bert asked.
“I don’t think anybody should be made to do something they don’t want to do, but if Christopher drops his drawers and presents himself, his penis should be as fair game as anybody else’s would be.” The Doctor said.
“Which doesn’t tell us if he’s getting his jollies off.” Sid replied.
“I would have to assume that if he came back for a second helping, something is going on inside him that he likes, and that should be good enough for us.” Doctor Lester said. “Probably the best way to go about it is to instruct the children that in Christopher’s case, he is the only one who can initiate. Our children are smart enough to know that he could be easily manipulated and exploited and the best way to handle the situation is to leave it completely up to him at all times.”
“Maybe next year.” Bert replied.
“You’ve heard of the over-protective parent, haven’t you Doc?” Sid asked.
The completion of the transformation of the big rigs into an office complex was accomplished despite the drivers having to repeatedly halt operations so that Christopher’s monitors could extract him from harms way.
By mid-afternoon, the sound of helicopters could be heard bouncing off the walls of the mountains that surround Green Tree in its protective cocoon of security from the outside world. While golf carts and camp trucks left for the trail to the FEMA Depot where the aircraft would land, the anticipation of the camps inhabitants grew by the second. The children knew the staff who were arriving, but they also knew there were strangers among the staff as well. This always bought a higher level of excitement since “Visitors” were rare and far between.
“Is your other brothers like Uncle Thomas and Uncle Paulie?” Matty wanted to know of David as a large group of boys from the Mafia surrounded him.
“They’re older than Uncle Paulie and Uncle Thomas, but they’re just as nice. They’re all Doctors, but they’re good Doctors. Most of them worked on Spencer, and he came out all right.” David replied as several boys looked towards Spencer.
“Who’s the boss?” Chris asked.
“Uncle Stewart is the boss, but he’s OK. He owns the boat, and he’s like Uncle Bert.”
“Does he know how to be an Outside Uncle?” Gavin now asked.
“They all do, but they don’t do it like we do it. We don’t gotta keep it a secret, and they do. They don’t talk about it when other people are around, but if you want them to become an Outside Uncle with you, they will.”
“How are they gonna become your Outside Uncle if ya can’t ask them?” Benji asked.
“They’re like the girls. Ya just can’t walk up to them and ask them if they wanna go have lollipops or pussy. They want to keep it quiet and private and pretend it’s a secret that nobody knows, even though everybody knows that you’re fucking together.” Jesse explained.
“Sounds silly. If you want to fuck, and they want to fuck, why don’t they just do it?” Billy said matter-of-factly.
“Probably because they don’t want to go to prison stupid. Ya can’t fuck boys on the outside, they think we don’t know how.” Carla replied.
Somehow, this explanation seemed quite rational to the group, despite the fact that it had just come from a very budding 12 year old female with a killer tan and hair now extending below her waist.
Bert was expecting a contingent of about 18 people, mostly made up of Medical staff from the New Hampshire School, some folks from the Institute at Harvard, and a few members of Thomas’s family from The Vineyard to perform Sid’s up-coming prostate surgery. What appeared in the clearing was closer to 3 dozen people, including some of the most Senior members of the Geppetto Project he had ever seen outside of Cambridge.
On the other hand, what greeted the arrivals into Camp was a scene they had rarely seen at a Geppetto school before, roughly 600 children, mostly dressed in varying sizes and colors of diapers, training pants, designer underpants and pull-ups.
“It’s a little early to be putting them to bed isn’t it Bert?” Matthew asked as he exited a cart and shook his friends hand.
“If you don’t like the floor show, I can always tell them they can go naked and you can be stepping in wall to wall shit in no time.” Bert replied.
“Has Chef John been feeding them too much macaroni and cheese lately?” Matthew asked.
“I won’t tell him you said that unless you want to go on a severe diet while you’re here. Thomas and the girls wanted them laced, so here we are.” Bert told his friend and fellow School Director. Matthew nodded his head in understanding.
“Why is all the Brass here? I thought this was nothing but a routine surgery.” Bert now asked.
“They’re not here because of the surgery, they have some news, and it’s better coming directly to staff than through outside channels.” Matthew replied as the two men now began to get surrounded by both staff and children alike.
“News?” Bert asked.
“Tonight. Right now let’s get everybody introduced and settled in. I imagine you have assigned quarters?” Matthew asked.
“For half this crew, yes. Who knew you were going to re-locate?” Bert asked as Matthew chuckled. “If I were you Matthew, I would explain that to Sid immediately. He’s going to take the size of this group extremely negatively unless it’s explained to him pronto.” Bert said as Matthew nodded once again.
While Bert now scrambled to arrange sleeping arrangements for his guests and staff, some well laid plans of Spencer, David, Paulie and Jesse were now taking place to corner Paulie’s older brothers who had just arrived from the Vineyard. David was already going to be going back North and attend the Andover School with Paulie, but Paulie’s older brothers knew nothing of the plans of Spencer and Jesse to join them. For that matter, neither did anyone at Green Tree who would need to sign off on the proposal to make it happen. Spencer came up with the idea of getting the factions separated to conquer them individually, and his plan included a horseback ride.
“Talk time? Now? Jesse, can’t this wait until tomorrow? We just received a few dozen guests in camp and I should be helping your Uncle Bert.” Sid told the boy.
Knowing he was in the driver’s seat, Jesse persisted. “No Uncle Sid, I need to have Talk Time with you now. I want to go out to Look-out Point with you and Spencer wants to come out there with Aunt Jeanette. We both want Talk Time. Now.” He pressed.
The rules of Green Tree dictate that a boy (Now girls too) can ask for “Talk Time” with their Primary Staff member at any time, and the staff are obligated to respond. If the request is for a talk “Soon”, it can be delayed. However, if a camper wants the talk “Now”, then the request has to be immediately responded to. Sid had little choice, and Jesse knew it.
“The staff will understand why I have to go, but it’s going to be a little more difficult to explain it to Paulie’s family. Are you sure we can’t postpone this?” Sid asked the boy.
“That’s OK Uncle Sid, David is going to go to Look-Out Point with Uncle Thomas and all his brothers, and Uncle Paulie is going out there with Uncle Poppy.” Jesse said with a dimpled smile.
“Are we still talking about having Talk Time, or have we somehow progressed to a Trail Ride without my prior approval?” Sid said.
Jesse shook his head vigorously in a growing panic. “It ain’t a Trail Ride Uncle Sid, it’s Talk Time and we all gotta do some talking together.” he said.
“And we all have to jump on some horses and ride to Look-out Point to do this talking instead of just sitting down around a picnic table here at camp?” Sid asked. “Does this “Talk” have a topic?” Sid said.
“Uncle Paulie wants to tell you that, but he wants to tell you himself.” Jesse replied.
“This is the same Uncle Paulie who now has Uncle Poppy as his Primary Caretaker?” Sid asked. Jesse nodded his head as his panic rose and glazed his eyes a bit.
“You’re old enough Jesse to understand that requesting Talk Time Now is a serious request. I’m going to trust that this isn’t a frivolous request on your part, and that it’s urgent. Let’s go to Look-Out Point.” Sid replied as he wrapped the boy’s head in his arms and gently kissed him on the top of his head.
“Now! You’re going on a fucking horseback ride now? Bert asked his assistant.
“Hey! I ain’t the asshole who made up these crazy rules about Talk Time. If you want me to blow him off, just say the word and I’m all yours.” Sid replied knowing full well it would never happen. “Besides, it looks like I’ve got half the Cove heading to Look-Out Point with the entire Vineyard crew, so it’s not like I’m leaving you all alone with our guests.” Sid said.
“It doesn’t take a fucking rocket scientist to figure out what they have cooking; We’ve got David, Spencer, Jesse and their respective Primary Caretakers, along with Paulie and all his brothers sitting down for a pow-wow. Now I’m being told Paulie has taken Doctor Lester as his Primary Caretaker? Who the fuck do you suppose gave him that bright idea, and more importantly, why?” Bert asked.
“We’re going to find that out, ain’t we boss?” Sid replied.
“Whatever you do Sid, don’t give away the farm. We still have certain processes we need to go through, and I’m not going to get my balls chopped off by the girls over Spencer and Jesse on your account.” Bert told Sid.
While Bert and his staff made housing arrangements for the newly arrived guests and Sid made his way to the stables along with Jesse, Spencer, David, Jeanette and Thomas, Paulie approached his brothers with his brand new Primary Caretaker, Doctor Lester, in tow.
“Paulie, we just got here. Don’t you think it would be a little rude if we all just got on horses and took a site-seeing tour?” Stewart asked.
“It’s not a site-seeing tour Sir. It’s the same thing as a Private Family Meeting. They call it “Talk Time”, but it’s the same thing.” Paulie replied.
“With all due respect to Doctor Lester here, a PFM is just that Paulie, Private.” Stewart replied as diplomatically as he could.
“I know that Sir, but you don’t understand; Uncle Poppy is now the same thing as a Mentor is to me. They call it a different thing, but it’s the same as Tom-Tom is to me.”
“You’ve discussed Family business outside of our Council?” Stewart now asked.
“No Sir, the only ones who will be at the meeting are Spencer and Jesse, and they already know how our Family works. You told them.” Paulie said boldly.
“Why don’t we have a PFM first, and then we can decide if the meeting should expand to your new friends?” Paulie’s brother Michael suggested.
“We need to have the meeting together Michael. I promise that there won’t be any private family business discussed that they don’t already know. Besides, everybody who is going to be there has already been with us at The Vineyard, so it’s not like you don’t know everybody there already.” Paulie said.
After a short gathering of Paulie’s older brothers, Stewart nodded. “We agree to the meeting Paulie, but if we call a halt to it at any time, you will walk away with us, no questions asked. Do you understand?” Stewart told the boy. “Yes Sir.” Paulie replied as he wrapped his arms around the Family Patriarch and gave him a tight hug.
Five hours earlier, the men from Martha’s Vineyard stood on the tarmac at the airport. Now, they approached the cliff over-hang of Look-Out Point which presented a panoramic view of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the West and glimpses of Interstate 77 meandering towards Charlotte. As usual, the low hum of trucks tires singing down the mountains from Virginia identified the Border with North Carolina through the trees.
Dave and his crew had constructed a large campfire circle slightly back from the over-hang and had added slate rock benches for the visitors to sit around the fire. Now, like separate armies sitting down for a war council, the boys all sat together as a group facing the staff from Green Tree and the men from The Vineyards.
The adults were not sure when or how, but Paulie seemed to have been chosen the Master of Ceremonies. For what, they had no clue.
“David and I will be going back up North to go to school next week. I want Spencer to come with me and David wants Jesse to go with him.” Paulie began.
“Sort of like bringing your puppies on vacation?” Sid said after the dust cleared.
“We’re serious Uncle Sid. We could all live together and if there’s any trouble, we would have Uncle Matthew at the New Hampshire School and all of Uncle Paulie’s brothers at the Vineyard.” David replied.
“It’s what I want to do Uncle Sid. It’s what Spencer wants to do too. If you guys can make it secure for David, you can make it secure for us too.” Jesse said.
Up to this point, Spencer was silent. However a quick glance over to Jeanette brought that to a quick halt. “I wouldn’t be going away forever Aunt Jeanette. I could come back whenever you wanted me to and you could come up and visit with us whenever you wanted to.” He said as the girl wiped her eyes.
“Yeah, we gots jets!” Jesse added.
Once the smiles and chuckles subsided from the adults, Stewart arose and spoke for the first time.
“Wanting to have your friends with you is a pretty good reason in and of itself, but what’s the real reason for the request?” He asked Paulie.
“Spencer and I aren’t just friends, I made him my brother. I love him and he loves me.” Paulie replied as he took Spencer’s hand in his and held it tightly.
“With whose authority?” Stewart asked his youngest brother.
“Uncle Joel talked about it with Marty before they died. Uncle Joel told Dora about it before he died. She knows.” Paulie replied with tears now welling up. “He told me about it on the tape when we sank the boat.”
“That’s some pretty solid authority I’d say.” Their brother Phillip now said.
“Stewart…” Paulie began before the man raised his hand in silence.
“Let me think for a minute Paulie.” He said as he walked around the fireplace area in deep thought.
“In the meantime, just where is Jesse fitting into this situation? The last time I heard, neither you or Spencer had any plans to become Doctors. Why is Jesse wanting to go North?” Sid asked his ward.
“I love Uncle Paulie and David and Spencer too. I can become a Doctor if I have to.” Jesse replied.
“Jesse, if I named every single person here at Green Tree, which one of them would you tell me you didn’t love? Do you love David more than you love Sammy? Do you love Spencer more than you love Brian or Charlie or Michael? If you go up North, which ones are you not going to miss and want to be with?” Sid asked the boy.
“I like Martha’s Vineyard Uncle Sid, I want to go back there.” Jesse said as his eyes now teared up.
“Jesse, I love Block Island. I love The New Hampshire School. I even love Florida, but Green Tree is my home. Where does Jesse see his home being?”
“Uncle Sid, you have to be on my side if that’s what I want to do.” Jesse replied.
“Yes, I do have to be on your side. But do I have to like it?” Sid replied. “One of these days, I’m going to have to smile and let you go on with your life without me, but I don’t feel that time has come yet. You’re not talking about moving a few blocks away. You’re also asking us to be happy that we remove a protective shield from around you that’s never been lifted before. That’s a mighty terrifying thought for folks who love you as much as we do.” Sid told the boy.
“Security is our number one consideration. We have no choice concerning Paulie. He has the authority to do what he’s done and if Spencer and Jesse gets your approval, we’ll do whatever necessary to keep the boys secure in their relationships up North.” Stewart finally said to the group.
“As far as you’re concerned Paulie, don’t think that just because you will be living independent of the Andover School, you are free from the family. In fact, it just might mean that you’re under more control than ever. Our lifestyle is a constant danger to everyone involved, so your responsibility to the group has not diminished, it has greatly increased. You just might be back under Dora’s control on a daily basis. We’re not even considering letting you go romping around Andover as free as a bird.” Stewart told the boy.
“Does that mean “Yes”? Spencer asked.
“That means Paulie’s family would welcome you to The Vineyards if that’s what Green Tree allows you to do.” Stewart replied as he kissed Spencer on both cheeks. “There are very few people in this world we trust to keep our families safe and secure from outside intervention. In many ways, our philosophy on raising children parallel the way all of the children at Green Tree are raised. If that philosophy were to become common knowledge, the both of us would be destroyed, and I’m not talking about figuratively, I’m talking literally. You are not a danger to us Spencer, and we don’t see you as such.” Stewart said to the boy.
“And what about me?” Jesse asked.
“Same answer.” Sid replied. “Both you and Spencer know the drill; this request has to go to the Team for a Team Decision. You’ll get your chance to plead your case before the Team, but until we know what that decision is, I don’t want the rest of the Camp involved, and that includes the Mafia.”
“Are you going to let me go Aunt Jeanette?” Spencer asked.
“Unless my prayers are answered and I can find a way to stop it, are you giving me a choice?” the girl asked.
“Did you call Dora and ask her?” Bert asked.
“There’s no need to; Paulie would never lie about such a thing.” Stewart replied as the Vineyard men sat down on the porch of Bert’s cabin watching the children either swimming in the lake or crawling over every truck in the courtyard they could get access to. “What are you going to do about it?” He asked Bert.
Bert shook his head. “Spencer’s not just another boy. In many ways, he’s even more protected around here than Christopher. He’s not only loved by everyone here, they are emotionally attached to him in a way that’s very hard to explain. Spencer attracts feelings of protectiveness and empathy in both adults and children that is impossible to explain. His charisma is almost scary at times. This thing is going to rock this place to its core. The thought of having Spencer in harm’s way is something most of our people will never tolerate.”
“What about Jesse?” Michael asked.
Bert smiled and shook his head. “The situation with Spencer is critical because Spencer himself is asking to go North. Our staff have never refused anything he has ever wanted, so it’s going to be extremely upsetting to them.
On the other hand, Jesse may be asking to go North too, but the staff has never had a problem with telling him “No”; especially Sid.
Don’t get me wrong, Jesse is no less loved than Spencer is, but Jesse can be controlled by us like most of our children can. The problem with Spencer is that he’s the one in control, and everybody knows it.
Sid and Jesse go back since Jesse was born. I’ll believe Jesse is going North when the plane door shuts and Jesse is still standing inside the plane.” Bert replied.
“So where do we go from here?” Phillip asked.
“I’m going to have to get a hold of Alexandria. Our security people are going to have to sign off on this if it happens, they’re going to insist on reviewing the security procedures in place and have a back-up team of their own available for the boys. Once we pass that hurdle, we call a meeting of Spencer and Jesse’s Teams and the shit starts flying. Do you want to be there?” Bert asked the men.
“When?” Stewart asked.
“Tomorrow night. If we wait until after Sid’s surgery, he may not be able to fully participate. There’s just no way in hell I’m going to listen to him for the next ten years if he loses Jesse.” Bert replied to some chuckles.
“I know that the Andover School is pretty liberal, but do you really think they’ll accept 3 or 4 boys as sexually active with each other as our boys?” Doctor Lester now asked.
“They tolerated Paulie because he is very discreet in the dorm and fits in like a glove anyway. Andover is Co-ed and they have a staff that knows their children. They know that the children experiment with each other and as long as the boys keep it down to a dull roar, the dorm parents ignore the occasional bump in the night and never even dare to step into the shower rooms.
But the level of activity your boys achieve is going to create a storm of protest from the parents. I think we’re going to have to move the boys to their own apartment, probably their own house, so we can keep their interactions private.” Michael replied.
“Agreed. Spencer can get an Egyptian mummy sexually involved at will. We don’t want the “Innocents” going home with more education than their parents paid for. God forbid a little tyke goes home on vacation and is found teaching his little brother new tricks.” Matthew said to more chuckles.
“Let’s move on to the reason we’re all here.” Phillip now said as he took out a dozen manila folders and gave everyone a copy.
“We will operate at Duke at 6:00 Tuesday morning. Everyone in the theater will be either from the Institute or from The Vineyard. The Chief Urologist is neither from the Institute not from The Vineyard, so basically, he is clueless about Geppetto.” Phillip said to the assembled.
“Why not?” Bert asked.
“Prostate surgery is generally a “Nothing” operation anymore, but the more experienced the Surgeon is, the better the long-term prognosis is with regards to both incontinence and post operational sexual recovery.
When you lose your prostate, you also lose the purse-sting muscle that starts and stops urination. To replace it, we transfer the muscle that was used to control the flow of sperm and re-attach it to the urethra. That transfer can be the difference between incontinence and continence. We need a cracker jack surgeon to ensure the best results.
The next problems are the nerve bundles attached to the right and left sides of the prostate. If they are excised or damaged, Sid can lose the ability to have an erection. That’s the ball-game for sex, and most men don’t really understand how important a sex life is to their emotional stability. Even if a man does nothing more than masturbate, losing that control can be devastating to a man.
Removing the nerves that are attached to the prostate is like removing a wet piece of toilet paper off of a sponge. It has to be removed in one piece, and if too many are broken in the process, they may never recover. It takes thousands of surgeries to perfect the technique, and we don’t have a qualifying surgeon within our ranks.
For that reason, we brought in one of the best in the Country and just told him that Sid is a colleague from California in the Practice of Cosmetic Surgery.” Phillip reported.
Bert looked at the list of people who were going to be in the operating room. “If it’s so “Routine”, why do we need all these people in there?” He asked.
“Sid is the first Geppetto Boy who has contracted Prostate Cancer. Most of our boys were dead before they reached this stage which has to account for a lot, but we want to find out if being Geppetto either increases or decreases the probability of this type of Cancer.” A Doctor from the Institute replied.
“We also came to share with you and your staff the results of our findings concerning the long-term projections on the effects of Geppetto. We’ve been tracking the progression of Geppetto now for 6 decades. The data now shows that we hit a Bell Curve twenty years ago. We’ve never found a “Cure”, but it appears that the effects of Geppetto are diminishing in our boys by about 10% every five years.
In the 1980s, we had a 40% incidence of Stage One Geppetto boys. Now, we’re looking at an incidence of 20% Stage One. There are smaller percentages with Stage Two and Stage Three Geppetto, but the trend is for our boys to all be Stage Three by 2060.”
“Is it going to dilute itself into non-existence?” Doctor Lester asked.
“We have never seen a case, except for Christopher and his brother Lance, who were born of Geppetto mothers and not be either a female carrier of have Geppetto as a male child. So no, Geppetto is not diluting itself away, it’s merely evolving to what we believe is a controllable problem for our children.”
“The tests we did on Christopher didn’t help?’ Bert now asked.
“Geppetto is a Genetic mutation. Christopher’s problems are Chromosomal. The only way we can study exactly why Christopher is a Geppetto boy sans any sexual side-effects, is to purposely “Make” new Christopher’s. That’s what got us into this mess in the first place and we’re not going to do it.” The scientist replied. “Fortunately, Christopher is A-Sexual; if he were not, we would recommend castration.”
“Where did he come from?” Matthew asked one of the researchers from Harvard as the meeting immediately broke for some cocktails before dinner.
“He’s one of the Team from M.I.T. He’s a cracker-jack Statistical Researcher.” The man replied.
“He’s also a fucking lunatic. Suggesting to Bert that Christopher be castrated is like suggesting your daughter marry Henry the Eighth. Not a very wise move!” Matthew told the man as Doctor Lester nodded.
“It might be wise to let those unaware know just exactly how protective of these children these staff are. It was an insensitive and un-necessary remark on his part.” He told the man.
A late Sunday afternoon Dinner served buffet style out on the lawn presented the guests in attendance the opportunity to observe the children and staff of Green Tree at their inter-personal best. The diapers, pull-ups and underpants of the afternoon gave way to the children’s Sunday best, and the picnic tables were fully integrated between campers, staff and visitors alike. The truck drivers stayed mostly with the senior boys, while the junior boys ate with their favorite staff members, mostly of the female variety, who had basically raised them.
The Teams from up North generally congregated with the Camp Kenny children, while those from the Vineyard stayed fairly close to Bert, Sid, and the camps Administrative Staff.
With a few exceptions, the Mafia stayed as a group, and the 3 dozen or so children were at their usual level of excitement.
As usual, Sid had loaded music into his sound system and a combination of eating and identifying the music of Chopin, Liszt and Mozart became more important than climbing trees and swimming off rocks in the lake for the assembled campers. Eventually, as the meal progressed the music would become livelier, but for now it was soft, low and soothing to match the intended atmosphere of peace and quiet during the meal.
“Uncle Adam, David, Spencer, Jesse and Uncle Paulie went horseback riding this afternoon. They wasn’t supposed to go riding until tomorrow. Do they get to go twice?” Sammy asked his counselor.
“My understanding is that they were not on a Trail Ride Sammy, they were having Talk Time.” Adam replied as all eyes and ears around the table were focused on him.
“Well, can we all have Talk Time tonight?” Chris asked.
“On horse-back maybe? Maybe out to the Point or up on The Meadow?” Adam asked the group.
“Yeah!” the boys all responded in unison.
“No” Adam said as chests deflated all around him. “It was a legitimate request for Talk Time, and the fact that they went out on horse-back wasn’t the chief motive for the request. Unless I’m mistaken, none of you boys really want to have a sit down talk with me, do you?” Adam asked the group.
“We could if you wanted us too!” Matty replied hopefully.
Adam smiled and ruffled the boy’s hair. “You’re scheduled to ride 3 days a week. If you want more time on the horses, you’ll have to figure out which other program you want to skip. Pretty soon, the lake will be too cold to swim in, and you’ll be able to switch more free time into riding.”
“Yeah, but so will all the rest of the kids. Then we end up with more kids then horses.” Sammy replied as the other boys nodded in agreement.
“I understand that you boys love horseback riding, but you have to be reasonable. As it is the Camp has 8 dozen horses and ponies and there’s simply no more room to put them all. As it is, Uncle Dave has to bring in the feed and hay by the tractor trailer load each week, and Uncle Sid has had to hire a full time Vet and Ferrier to keep the horses in shoes. When I was a boy at Camp, we were lucky we got the chance to ride once a week. You guys have no idea how lucky you already are.” Adam said.
“Lucky about what?” Sid asked as he sat down with Barry and a plate full of food.
“We wus talkin about riding more and Uncle Adam starts telling us about the good old days.” Chris replied as the rest of the table started giggling.
“Riding more? You mean my horses?” Sid asked as Christopher now approached the table and scrambled onto Sid’s lap.
“Sorry Uncle Sid, but he got away from us when he saw you with that plate of food.” Christopher’s monitor said as she sat down next to Sid.
“No problem Robin. Did you eat?” Sid asked the girl as Christopher began taking pieces of turkey meat off Sid’s plate.
“Yes, we both ate but Christopher never stops.” She replied as she watched the boy grab for a bottle of water.
“No problem sweetheart, he’s a growing boy.” Sid replied as he slipped both hands into the sides of Christopher’s coveralls and massaged the boy’s bulging stomach.
“So tell me about my horses.” Sid said as he looked at a glass and Andrew filled it with wine without prompting.
“Jesse, David, Spencer and Uncle Paulie all got to go on a ride today and we wanted to know if we wus going to get an extra ride. But Uncle Adam said they wus on Talk Time and not a trail ride. Is that true?” Sammy asked.
“Hell no! Your Uncle is lying through his teeth as usual.” Sid replied as he took a sip of wine.
Sammy shook his head “Now you’re lying to us Uncle Sid.” The boy said as he sat back down to his meal.
“As a matter of fact, with our guests here for the next week, and with the drivers all free to participate in whatever program they want to, the horses are going to be in pretty short supply until the schedule gets back to normal. I was hoping that you boys would cooperate and make sure our friends who don’t get the opportunity to ride all that often get to go out.”
“Why are all these people here Uncle Sid, and why are they all having so many secret meetings? What’s wrong?” Michael asked.
Probably the tone in the boy’s voice told Sid it wasn’t the time for jokes or lies.
“You’re old enough to know the truth, and you’re also old enough to know how to keep boys and girls who might be younger than you are from learning things that they might not understand which would get them upset. This conversation is between you and the Junior boy’s staff, and it doesn’t go to the Camp Kenny children until your Uncle Bert decides it does. Right?” Sid began.
“The people from the Institute are here to brief the staff about events in Boston that are good for us. They will discuss that with you later this week, cabin by cabin.”
“The medical folks are here on their routine rounds, but they are a few weeks early because of a scheduling conflict.”
“That leaves the people who are here from the New Hampshire School and from the Vineyards. They are here because I have to have a small surgery done on Tuesday, and they don’t trust outsiders to do the operation the right way. They are here to make sure I get back here on Wednesday where I belong. I will be gone for one day, and I will expect all of you to make sure that the little ones stay busy and happy while I’m gone. Can you do that for me?” Sid asked the boys.
“Does Spencer know?” Brian asked.
“No, nobody not at this table knows besides David.” Sid replied. “And Spencer will ONLY be told by Aunt Jeanette.” Sid replied.
“This ain’t gonna be good. When is Aunt Jeanette gonna tell him?” The boy asked.
“It’s no big deal, Aunt Jeanette will be telling him tonight.” Sid replied.
“Uncle Sid, you can bull shit us, but you can’t bull shit Spencer. He’s gonna freak.” Brian replied as the other boys nodded in agreement.
Sid shook his head and smiled a bit as he finished his wine and motioned for a fresh one. “Ya do the best possible job ya can Doc, and they still grow up to be wise ass little bastards.” Sid told Doctor Lester as the staff chuckled.
“Gentlemen, your staff will take care of Spencer, you take care of yourselves, and when I get back on Wednesday, you better hope and pray those stalls are mucked and those horses are happy or you’ll be getting back on them sometime in the year 2010.” Sid replied as the boys giggled.
Once Dinner was over, both the Girls Camp and Camp Kenny children returned to their respective camps. This left the lake to the Intermediate Boys Camp while the bulk of the guests went to the pool. The exception were the visitors from The Vineyards, who would be sleeping in Cabins around the lake that had the space available for them. As both the Camps Doctor and their own family member, Thomas had explained the very simple ground rules to his brothers concerning the boys as laid down by Bert which was, not to invite yourself into a boy’s bed, but get invited. The choice was his, the request to sleep with you had to be his. Like most rules concerning the children, whether they be the children of The Vineyards or the children of Green Tree, these ground rules were the same, and both known and accepted by the camps new arrivals. Still, there were problems.
“How come you got them pants on? We’re all nakie, even Uncle Paulie and Uncle Thomas ain’t got no pants on!” Sammy asked Thomas’s brother Michael as the men sat on Turtle Rock in the middle of the Cove surrounded by a small army of plump bottoms and deep tans from head to toe.
“Don’t ya know stupid? They just came to Green Tree so they still gets boners when they get nakie” Carla told Sammy. “Outsiders have to wear bathing suits so nobody sees their boners.”
“Really?” Sammy asked the man.
“You’re not being rude, but your talk is causing our guests embarrassment. We have discussed this topic before and you’re forgetting your manners. Talking about sex matters for you is no big deal and when you are among yourselves, you have no limitations. But people who have not been raised at Green Tree are not used to it, so we respect their privacy and don’t bring up certain things.” Adam told the children on the Rock.
“Like Boners?” Carla asked.
“That’s a pretty good start. It’s absolutely wonderful that you can walk around stark naked and have sex in Macy’s window with 15 of her best friends and not bat an eye, but most folks in the world are not like Carla. They keep their sexual lives private, and we respect their privacy, Right Carla?” Adam asked the girl.
“Where’s Macy’s window?” Carla asked.
After throwing Carla into the lake, Adam sat back down next to Michael and his brothers. “I apologize, but they did the same thing to me when I first came. Believe it or not, you get used to them”. Adam told his guests as Sid and Barry came out with two coolers in tow.
“Boy I’ll say! Uncle Adam used to walk around with a huge boner all the time until he got used to us!” Chris now remarked as the boys and girls giggled all the more.
“Boners? Who’s got boners?” Sid asked as he lifted the coolers onto the rocks ledge and climbed up and the giggling turned into laughter.
“Thanks pal.” Adam said as Sid sat down opening a beer.
“Don’t mention it.” Sid said.
“As you have already seen Gentlemen, Jesse, David and Spencer, like to eat, sleep, play and have sex. When they want to eat, they either whine about it or rub their stomachs. When they want to sleep, they lay down. When they want to play they grab a baseball mitt or whatever. When they want to have sex, they sport a rod and there’s no verbalization necessary. If the other party is in the mood, they’ll get the message. If not, then the rod is ignored. Consider it a form of “Communication” and nothing more, because that’s the way they see it. They don’t get pissed if their intentions are spurned, and they don’t get outraged if the offer is made to them.” Sid told the men of The Vineyard.
“My friend here can attest to the fact that it will cease given enough time, and he can also tell you that regardless of whether or not you’re wearing clothing or not, the children will know what’s happening no matter how many cold showers you take. If they see something that sexually excites them, they’ll pop a rod faster than you can whistle Dixie and they realize that you’re no less human than they are and expect the same in return.”
“As Adam and Thomas can tell you, the only thing an erection on a man tells these children is that you’re not a eunuch or probably don’t need to take Viagra anytime soon.”
“Very subtle.” Adam told Sid as the chuckles erupted once again.
“I can be a subtle as a Swiss Diplomat, but these kids smell new blood and come tonight, they will all be vying to try out a new Outside Uncle. Our guests need to know how it’s going to transpire. They are not too particular if it’s you and them, or you and them and 20 of their closest friends, so be prepared to let them know what is and what is not acceptable to you. You need to keep in mind: They have never been taught shame either about themselves, their bodies, or anybody else’s body. They don’t have a clue what “Modesty” means, and if they did, they would think it was foolish. To them, sex and pleasure are synonymous, so if it feels good, it is good. They are taught that they, and nobody else, controls their bodies, so “No” means “No” and “Stop” means “Stop”.
“Beyond that, they’ll make it quite clear to you who they want to sleep with, and from there, it’s your choice.” Sid told the men.
“Every single thing you have said, we have been made aware of since first learning of your existence through Tom-tom.” Stuart began in response. “But I hope the children understand the reasons in back of our “Foolish” or “Silly” behavior. We have seen families utterly destroyed for living the way we chose to, and we’ve even seen our own family member haunted prematurely to his death because of his love for us. I hope the children understand the gravity of the situation if the information they have stored in their beautiful little minds finds its way into ignorant hands. Here in Green Tree, life for them is as it should be in a perfect world, but we don’t live in that perfect world, in fact, we live a lot closer to hell than they could ever imagine. People are so afraid of their own sexuality out there that it would not surprise us in the LEAST if one of these days we awaken to find a new Law on the books that OK’s burning at the stake for the “Offense” of even thinking about loving another. People can talk about the “Dark ages” all they want; this IS the Dark ages for us. These folks are trying to stifle their own inner wants and desires through demonizing us. If it were not for the behavior we saw in David, Jesse and Spencer when out in the public world, trust me, we would have run, not walked, to the nearest exit.” Stuart told the Green tree men.
“My understanding is that you are not a Geppetto boy.” Phillip said to Adam. “Unless your family raised you as a nudist, you’re not suggesting you popped out of your clothing upon arrival are you?”
For the first time in probably two years, Adam blushed a bit as the Green Tree staff roared with laughter. “Our nick name for him in the beginning was “Flash”. Etienne replied. “Every time we turned around, Adam was history if he saw or heard something interesting and his libido began to take over. We were afraid he was going to catch pneumonia because of all the cold showers he was taking.”
“Chef John used to refer to him as “Quasimodo” to the Mess Boys because he always walked around slightly bent over to compensate for his stiffie.” Sid said as he smiled at Adam.
Adam reached for another beer from the cooler as he shook his head. “No, my family certainly didn’t raise me as a nudist. If they did, these ghouls that I used to call my friends would not have taken such prurient delight in seeing me try to maintain a modicum of modesty. Around here, if you even dare to close the bathroom door when you have a bowel movement, these jackals will want to tape it and put it on display for the afternoon activity. My advice would be to get used to it, your body might be your own, but it’s theirs to gawk at regardless of your sensitivities. The boys didn’t pick up this stuff in a vacuum; they’re a carbon copy of their teachers.” Adam replied to even more laughter.
“Stuart is correct about the outside world, it’s not getting any better, in fact it’s much worse year by year. Now, they’re even going after children for daring to act on their sexuality with each other, let alone some adult. Bert actually sees this as a positive; They are trivializing these laws to such an extent, that they are becoming meaningless. Who cares if you learn that someone is on a list when you know they could be on it for merely drawing a cartoon or taking your own picture when you were a child. 18 year olds can get life in prison for having sex with their 17 year, 11 month old girlfriends. Am I supposed to beat that man for the rest of his life? They throw 12 year olds in foster care for being found in school jerking off. What is putting him in foster care going to do besides teaching him better, faster, more effective ways to jerk off ? As for the boys themselves, you’ve seen David Jesse and Spencer on the outside. The rest of the boys here are no different, they know there are two sets of rules; the foolish ones, and the Green Tree ones. None of our children are going to go skipping through the gates thinking the outside world makes sense, they are taught better than that.” Adam replied.
“So you see gentlemen, our system does work; if we can get Adam here talking about jerking off without popping an erection, anybody can do it!” Sid said as the laughter continued.
By “Call to Quarters”, it was pitch black and the exodus to the cabins began. As Stuart and the other brothers from the Vineyards got into their carts that were sitting on the path, one by one, a small group of boys joined them. Jesse, with Chris, Matty and the twins, Benji and Gavin approached the man with quiet apprehension. “Paulie said we could ask you if we could visit with you tonight for an overnight sleepover. Can we?” Jesse asked the man.
“All 5 of you? Is there enough room in the cabin?” Stuart asked.
“Oh sure! You’re in Boys 11, and it gots lots of room.” Gavin replied with a dimpled smile.
“Don’t you have to ask your counselors?” Stuart asked.
“No, Uncle Bert said we could have overnight sleepovers as long as we didn’t keep you awake all night. We don’t stay up all night anyways.” Benji replied. “All we gotta do is let Uncle Adam know where we’re going, and we already done that.” He said with more dimples arriving.
With a nod from Stuart, the 5 boys scrambled into the cart. Slightly mortified, Stuart found himself with Gavin now sitting in his lap ready to steer the cart. After a slight adjustment and hoping the boy didn’t notice a raging erection now lying snugly between the boy’s cheeks, he pressed the pedal as the cart moved up the pathway to the opposite side of the lake from the cove.
Stuart’s cabin consisted of three bedrooms, but after showers, it became apparent to Stuart that the boys had no intentions of using more than one; his.
As “Taps” blew in the background, the boys waited patiently while Stuart took his shower.
“Uncle Paulie never played “Horse” before. Have you?” Jesse asked as the man entered the bedroom drying off from his shower.
“I don’t know, I don’t know how you play “Horse.” Stuart replied.
As all 5 boys now grinned to each other, Jesse spoke first as Stuart noticed the erections growing around him. Getting up to turn out the lights in the cabin, Jesse returned with his penis in full glory and standing straight from his body as firm as a flagpole. “It’s easy Uncle Stuart, just lay down flat and we’ll show you.” The boy said as the rest of the boys stood up around the bed ready to play one of their favorite group activities. “You ain’t gonna have to do nothing.” He said with a smile as he took out a bottle of body oil from the bedside table.
As Stuart laid down, Jesse poured some oil on his hands while Matty removed Stuarts fully tented towel.
“See, I told it was big.” Gavin said as he looked to his brother.
What now stood standing in the moonlit bedroom was what the boys knew as your standard “European” penis. As with all his brothers, Stuart was circumcised, and sported an adult penis that was basically white with a pink full mushroom head, pubic hair, slightly curved and with two large marbles where the boy’s peanuts usually sat. In terms of “Lollipops” this was the boy’s favorite variety.
As Stuart lay there wondering what (or who) was coming next, the boys did some quick analyzing.
“How come you don’t shave? Does your wife like all that hair?” Matty asked as he ran his fingers along Stuart’s abdomen and allowed the hair to flow between his fingers. “All men have pubic hair, we don’t shave down there.” Stuart replied.
A chorus of giggles now arose. “Not all men have hair there. None of our Uncles do; the girls wouldn’t let them fuck them if they did. It tickles.” Chris told the man.
“Not even Uncle Paulie or Uncle Thomas has hair anymore, Uncle Stuart. We shaved them before we did lollipops on them.” Benji replied smiling.
“But you gots a big dick; its bigger than Uncle Thomas’s. But not as big as Uncle John’s or Father Peter’s.” Matty said as he wrapped his fingers around the base and milked some pre-come from the man’s now throbbing penis.
As the bead rose to a small globe on the end of Stuarts penis, Benji put his finger on the juice and put it to his tongue. “It tastes just like Uncle Paulies.” He said as his finger now returned to the mans penis and spread the remainder around Stuarts head as it involuntarily twitched from the feel of the boy’s touch. Finishing smothering Stuarts head, the boy took the remainder and painted Jesse’s head with the natural lubricant.
Without conversation, all 4 boys lined up as Jesse lathered each boy generously with the body oil both on their genitals and on their bottoms. Within 30 seconds, 4 fully greased males stood at attention in full erection.
“Horse” to Green Tree boys is a fairly simple game; the object to it, and most of the games they’ve invented in their devious little minds calls for each and every boy, regardless of the number, to achieve orgasm during mutual play. Any damned fool can suck off his friend, or get laid with one being satisfied, but Green Tree boys are not fools. If his friend is going to get “Tingles” then he’s going to get tingles at the same time, or as close as humanely possible.
In “Horse” the bottom boy is the largest boy, and the second largest boy sits astride him. The next boy sits in front of him. Depending how big the bottom boy is, the game can be played with between 3 to 5 boys.
As Jesse “Mounted” his “Horse”, Jesse leaned forward and gave Stuart a kiss. In the meantime, Chris made sure Jesse was properly lined up, and pulled Jesse’s hips down and onto Stuart stopping only when Jesse was impaled fully onto Stuart. Sitting up, Jesse waited as first Matty, then Chris, then Gavin and finally Benji were all mounted and Benji’s penis poked Stuart’s nose. When Benji’s genitals, balls and all, disappeared into Stuart’s mouth, the “Circuit” was complete and each participant was fully involved.
It was certainly not the first time, but Stuart’s orgasm arrived with almost minimal movement on his part. Like a chain reaction, his pelvic muscles ignited Jesse’s, which went through Jesse into Matty, then each boy in turn as a wave of sexual pleasure traveled back and forth between all six with no need for conversation.
“We gots more and better ways to fuck, but Uncle Paulie thinks that’s one of the neatest. Can we show you the rest of them before you leave Uncle Stuart?” Gavin asked as Stuart hugged the boy.
Stuart kissed the nap of the boy’s neck as his hand traveled to the boy’s penis that had fully recovered from play just 15 minutes earlier. Turning the boy 180 degrees in the bed, Stuart gave the boy’s genitals a kiss, then another, then another. “Anytime you want to show me another “Trick”, I’ll be more than happy for it.” Stuart said as he lowered the boy’s body onto the pillow and smothered his face into the boy’s groin.
Gavin would have many dreams that night, and they all involved lollipops, his favorite “Trick”.
Bert’s Office filled up fast following Dinner as a meeting of the Institute staff was called to bring Bert and Matthew up to speed on their Status Report that was 50 years in the making. Every known detail of the Geppetto Project was entered into the computers of M.I.T. and Harvard, and the Institute now had a clear picture of Geppetto’s future. These were the bean counters that crunched the numbers, and the sociologists who then projected the effects they could expect from that Data.
“So the bottom line is that Geppetto is watering itself down, and in 50 years, most of the boys born then will be at Stage 3” Bert asked the men assembled around a huge table on his side porch.
“Correct. At Stage 3, Geppetto will be easily controlled by society, and they’ll regard them as little more than extremely “Randy” little boys.” Came the response. “It’s not really going to be noticed, because society is already seeing an increase in the number of girls who are going through menses earlier and earlier. They know that boys are also reaching puberty earlier than they did even 10 years ago, but nowhere near the rate of girls. In effect, the Geppetto children are going to “Blend” in with the “Normal” children as time progresses, and unless they know exactly where to look, they’ll never be able to differentiate the two.” He told the group.
“How do we know there even is a difference? Who’s to say these early bloomers are not themselves Geppetto?” Matthew asked.
“We’ve taken DNA swabs from 1,000 girls, 6 to 10 who have entered puberty, and another 1,000 boys, 9 and 10 who have entered puberty. The statistical number of those in the general population and the early risers are identical. Whatever is triggering early puberty in American children isn’t Geppetto.” A Mathematician replied.
“The bottom line is that we’ve caught a break. Our children and societies children in general are merging when it comes to sexual activity, and by 2025 to 2030, they will be practically invisible and inseparable from mainstream society. As to how society deals with them is another question, but let’s face it, if every kid on the block can be found to be a sexual deviate by today’s standards, what are they going to do; lock every single child up? They might not like it, but they’re going to have to accept the natural fact that children are as sexually active and involved as they are.” The lead sociologist replied.
“So where does this leave Green Tree and our other schools?” Bert asked. “What are we going to be telling them?
“For the short term, nothing will be changing that they will be able to see. However, as time goes on, we will be able to integrate them into society easier and easier. By the time they are adults, they can fully function in society as long as they are able to maintain their behavior to conform with the norm. Those who either cannot, or don’t want to alter their lifestyle, will always have a secure environment and workplace to live in. Green Tree and the other schools are not going to be closing their doors; they are simply going to evolve into a more “Open” system than it has now. They won’t need to have people guarding them from the outside world like they have today, their schools will merely be one more facility to educate children in.”
“What about procreation? Are we going to continue to sterilize the children?” Bert asked.
“The recommendation is that we continue to have the boys and girls sterilized by reversible vasectomies and tubal ligations if they are Stage 2 or 3. Once they reach age 21, they can elect to have the operations reversed.
For obvious reasons, we are suggesting that Stage 1 boys, and girls that produce a Stage 1 boy be permanently sterilized.” The Project Director said.
“I have a little over 200 men and boys here right now who are Stage 1. Under your suggestion Doctor, none of them would exist. That’s a mighty tough concept for me to accept. When you say that it’s a “Suggestion”, I assume you are saying that it’s going to be a voluntary suggestion on the part of the recipients, correct?” Bert asked the man. “How do we propose to get the informed approval of a 1 to 3 year old child to cut his nuts off?” Bert asked tersely.
“You owe me $100.00 Frank.” Doctor Lester told the Project Director as a chuckle arose from the men of the Institute.
“The women will be young adults before they give birth and possibly have a Stage One. As for the boys, regardless of their Stage, they will have a reversible vasectomy upon the onset of puberty, and the Stage One boys will be encouraged, but not forced, to make the vasectomy permanent upon reaching their majority. If you’ve done your job, they’ll elect to have the surgery. If you haven’t, you’ll have some additional job security and some pretty miserable future campers.” Doctor Lester told Bert.
“Miserable future campers?” Bert asked the Doctor after downing half his Tom Collins.
“I’ve interviewed thousands of Geppetto boys in my career, Bert. Not one ever told me they would rather be a Geppetto Boy than a “Normal” boy. You and your staff make these boys some of the happiest children in the world, but if they were given the choice, they wouldn’t be here, would they?” Doctor Lester asked.
“I just don’t like this talk about castration. We’re dealing with human beings here, and without their consent, I won’t agree with touching a child.” Bert said.
“Understood Bert; nobody’s suggesting otherwise.” Doctor Lester replied.
Close to an hour later, the last of the Institute and M.I.T. participants retreated to their cabins up on the girls campus which now had the only available cabins left to house them.
Bert’s mood was still a little “Prickly” but he had calmed down considerably as he picked up a phone and dialed a number in Alexandria, Virginia as his porch re-filled with his Green Tree Administrative staff.
“I hear you didn’t cut Frank’s throat from ear to ear Bert; you must be getting soft in your old age.” The voice on the other end said on speaker phone.
“Bad news travels fast Harry. What did they do, call you on the way up the hill?” Bert asked.
“Actually, my contact was still at the lake. It’s my job to know what’s going on in your world Bert, I know you’re now on your fifth Tom Collins and probably getting a little tipsy” The Security Officer replied.
“You have shitty intelligence Harry. It’s my 6th Tom Collins, and I’m too pissed off to be drunk.” Bert replied as his staff sat down with their drinks quietly.
“I warned him not to be so dry and clinical when he spoke to you, so I guess he ignored my very valuable advice. Fuck him Bert, you ain’t gonna change anyway, so why get all hot and bothered about it?” the Colonel asked. “If there’s anybody who should be pissed, it’s me. If I’d have known Frank was taking side bets, I’d have bet a Grand you would have a hissy fit.” The man said to some chuckles.
“So what’s up Bert? I know you didn’t call me up in the middle of the night to discuss vasectomies through blurry eyes.” Harry asked.
“I’m calling to keep you up to date with the latest on the plans for David’s schooling. It appears that we’ve developed a wrinkle in the plans. We’ve had a formal request from Spencer to join David at Andover, and Jesse has made the same formal request. How much of a security problem do you foresee if the requests are approved?” Bert asked.
“I’m assuming we’re talking about the same Spencer and Jesse I’m familiar with. You don’t have more than one of each down there, do you?” Harry asked after a long pause.
“The same” Bert replied.
“You’re seriously considering sending Spencer away to school? Does Jeanette and the girls know about this? Does Anthony?” The Colonel asked.
“It has to be considered Harry, Spencer made the request. We’re in the organizational end of it now, everybody isn’t fully informed yet.” Bert replied. “I just wanted to give you a heads up that it might be something you need to plan for.”
“I don’t see too many problems with it Bert. All we’ll have to do is to put a detail of Secret Service Agents in the classroom with him at Andover and expect no questions being asked by the staff or student body there. Maybe we could pass him off as George Bush’s secret love child. That might work, huh?” Harry replied as the chuckles increased.
“He just came back from the Vineyards and Block Island without any problems.” Bert replied.
“Yes, and he was surrounded by nothing but Green Tree staff, the New Hampshire School staff and The Vineyards people. Not to mention by the way the around the clock Secret Service and Federal Marshalls that watched his every move from afar. Bert, we don’t protect George half as well as we protected those children up on the Vineyards this summer.” Harry responded.
“I didn’t see any Secret Service or Federal Marshalls” Sid now said.
“That’s why they still have jobs. Did you see the Cable TV crews out on the Island?” Harry asked.
“Yes.” Sid replied.
“There is no Cable TV on Block Island Sid, they’re all on Dish Satellite out there.” Harry replied.
“Sid, while you’re still awake; you’re seriously considering Jesse leaving Green Tree?”
The man asked.
“No, but I have to listen to the request, and I am his Primary Caretaker, so he knows I have to defend and advance his request with the team.” Sid replied.
“So Jesse is banking on you to let him go, and Spencer is banking on Jeanette to allow him to leave. Am I correct?” Harry asked.
“Yes.” Sid replied.
“OK, I got the picture now. I’m going to wait before I buy any more Cable TV trucks, but if this thing progresses any further along, you be sure to wake me up again, OK?” he asked.
After a fresh round of drinks, the meeting resumed.
“It didn’t sound like he took us very seriously.” Kevin now said to the group as they sat back down.
“Harry took us seriously, he knows how we work. He’ll be formulating plans in the morning and will let me know whatever restrictions cannot be avoided.” Bert replied.
“Like what?” Adam asked.
“Housing plans, transportation, staffing, security arrangements and scheduling. For one, we can forget about putting Spencer in a dorm at the Andover School.” Bert replied.
“You think he would be too sexually active in the community?” Doctor Lester asked.
“No, I know that Spencer can control himself 100%. What I don’t know is how well Spencer’s dorm mates will control themselves. If we put Spencer into a dorm, we’ll have every kid in the dorm fucking his brains out. Their mommies and daddies will get a tad upset when they go home and discover that their little darlings have developed an unquenchable thirst for little boy penis.” Bert Concluded.
“OK, tomorrow morning after breakfast we meet back here with all the boys’ teams. I want to see Spencer’s, David’s, Jesse’s and Paulie’s Teams here along with a representative from The Vineyards. Since Matthew is undoubtedly going to be involved, we need you here as well.” Bert said to the Director.
“Both Spencer and Jesse have asked to be at the meeting in person.” Sid now added.
Bert shook his head. “Who was the idiot who gave the boys permission to make that request?” He asked.
“You was the idiot boss.” Sid replied.
Bert slowly rocked in his chair and nodded as he took a drink. “I never had stuff like this in mind back then. I was envisioning requests to have more baseball games, or more horseback riding. Maybe extra deserts or something; certainly not life-changing events.” He lamented.
“Well ya fucking blew it, so let’s move on; what about the Grand Opening?” Sid asked.
Once the giggling stopped, Bert resumed. “My understanding is that the Mafia knows about Tuesday’s surgery. If we have a general staff meeting, they are going to feel that this is a big deal and pass on that apprehension to the children. So Sid, Doctor Lester and I feel it would be better if each Team Leader informed the staff by tomorrow morning. The children will be told after lunch tomorrow during General Announcements. We want to keep the announcement as routine as possible to avoid unnecessary apprehension in the children, especially the younger ones.” Bert Sid as Sid nodded.
“You said the Mafia knows already. Does that include Spencer, Jesse and David?” Gloria asked.
Bert shook his head. “David knows because of his association with the Infirmary. Spencer will be told by Jeanette, and Jesse will be told by Sid. Obviously, the two of you will need to do it before Lunch.” Bert told the two staff members.
A good half hour later, and close to midnight, Bert sat on his porch rocking and listening to the bull frogs croaking back and forth in the lake. Very few lights were visible from the cabins except for an occasional bathroom night light, and the always lit up Infirmary. It was going to be a pretty hectic week ahead, and it had barely begun.
Re-entering the cabin, Bert went upstairs and peeked into Christopher’s bedroom as the boy slept soundly sandwiched between his ever-present babysitters. In Christopher’s new world, life was a playground from sun-up to sun-down. Bert wished he was so lucky.
Reveille blew about 2 hours early as far as Adam was concerned, but he also knew he would never regain the lost sleep. With almost half the children in his cabin on “Overnight sleepovers”, it was a quiet and slow awakening for the rest of the children, including Carla, Jeannie, Sammy and Trevor, who had all elected to remain in the Cove.
Adam’s eyes opened and slowly focused on a birds-eye view of a small (by adult standards) but exceptionally red vagina. “Carla, why is your puss so red?” Adam asked the girl.
The girl stirred, but only to reach a hand down and cup her genitals in her hand. “I don’t know Uncle Adam, all we was doing was playing last night. The boys rub their dicks on us, but they ain’t fucking us.” She said sleepily. “Maybe it’s red because we let them give us tingles. Does that make girls pussies red?” She asked as she yawned.
“If it does, then maybe you need to teach them a kinder, gentler way to play with you. You need to keep in mind; you’re making love, not making pizza dough.” Adam replied as the giggling began.
“There ain’t no kinder gentler way Uncle Adam. When we give them lollipops, their dicks get all red. It’s the same with our pussies. Even when we just jerk them off with our hands their dicks still gets all red and puffy; it’s the same way with our pussies. See?” Jeannie replied as she pinned the base of Trevor’s erection down against the boy’s abdomen in between two fingers.
With nowhere else to go, the boy’s penis stood straight and tall towards the rafters with the head gleaming after leaving its foreskin under the pressure. True to her words, Trevor’s penis was as red as a fire truck and his testicles only a slightly redder shade.
It seems to me that when I was a boy, we managed to get tingles without beating the little guy to death. Maybe you could try it a little easier in the future.” Adam told the assembled.
“You musta been pretty horny kids when you was little Uncle Adam. There ain’t no way we is gonna get tingles if we just rub our dicks and pussies. If ya don’t suck hard, the boys will never get tingles around here.” Carla replied as she took Sammy’s penis in her hand and kneaded it to full erection. Sammy was now fully awake.
Stuart’s morning began with much less conversation. Once the bugle blew, the twins, Benji and Gavin went through their usual morning routine regardless of the company. Still half awake, Gavin slipped on top of his brother as the two became lost in each others groins.
Stuart looked down at Chris who was now stirring alongside the man. The boy’s beauty brought Stuart into an instant erection, even stronger than the one he awoke with. Chris was a flawless beauty, and the single pierced ear with the diamond in it made the child somehow even more alluring. His longish blond hair and crisp blue eyes sparkled like the diamond, and his deep tan and boyishly smooth body screamed to be caressed and kissed. In earlier days, he would have been a model for Michelangelo, or worth a king’s ransom in service to some Nobleman. Now, he lay before Stuart fully ready to make the man a very happy individual and he had every intention of doing it.
Smiling, Chris turned himself onto his side and spooned his body against Stuart’s in an invitation that needed nothing verbally said as the boy reached over himself and drew the man’s arm across his stomach. The warmth of Stuart’s penis reached the child’s bottom even before he came into contact with it as he made sure it was sandwiched just where it could do the most good. The man’s hair now tickled him, but he and his friends could deal with that small problem a little later.
Stuart kissed the boy on the side of his neck and began to give the boy a hickey as his throbbing penis effortlessly pumped pre-come in between the boy’s cleavage. Wisely, Stuart allowed the boy to guide the way, and Chris was as adept at milking an adults penis of lubricant as any boy at Green Tree. When he felt the need, a twitch of his pelvic muscles would send another signal to Stuart’s penis to allow the flow, and once Chris knew he was coated from his tail bone to his scrotum, it would make for a smooth and friction free entry into his world.
Some boys have nice asses; Chris was one of the many at Green Tree who had two pillows sitting at the gate. With a slight hip movement and almost by magic, Stuart felt the heat of the boy flow up his penis as it descended into heaven itself. There was no tensing on Chris’s part, in fact, the boy had long since been trained to draw in a penis, regardless of age or size.
As only the lucky few know, pederastic love is not only an art form, it’s a learned and mutual experience. Here, there was no student/teacher. Both man and boy were experts at the art and as Stuart gently took the child’s own erection in his hand, he made love to it as he was taught to do when he was himself a child and the one being made love to.
As Stuart reached the full depth of the boy, Chris let out a barely discernable moan of contentment from somewhere deep inside of himself as his pelvic floor muscles flexed involuntarily and triggered a response from the man who smelled like a newborn baby and made love like a Greek God. Chris smiled to himself as he let the feelings now coursing through his body flow. He knew what it was to be merely fucked, and he knew what it was like to be made love to, whether it was one of the other boys in Green Tree, or a staff member. Now, he had a better understanding of what it was like to have an outside uncle, and he rather liked the feelings; but he was still going to see to it that Stuart was shaved as bald as a baby before breakfast.
Following morning flagpole, “Mess Call” blew as those assembled walked up to the Mess Hall almost in a group. Once the Camp Kenny staff and children entered, the rest of the camp followed. It was no surprise that the Vineyard men entered and sat down with whatever cabin “Entertained” them the night before. And Stuart, Phillip and Michael ended up sitting with the Mafia. Each man had spent the night in their own individual cabins, but each of them had pretty much the same “Experience” regardless. The boys were determined to find out what made each man tick, and they had pretty much cleaned their clock. Now, it was “Report” time to the rest of the flock. Having been taught from birth that sex was OK, it was difficult to now have to explain to them about modesty and privacy. Naturally, Adam felt the worst for the men.
“You need to look on the bright side. When they dragged me through this stuff, I was completely alone. At least you have each other to share your humiliation with.” He told the 3 men as they approached the Mafia’s tables. The good news is that once they ALL know your strengths and weaknesses, it becomes a non topic of discussion. If they never mention you again, you know you need to improve on your skills.” He said as Kevin giggled a bit.
Once the entire group was seated, Adam tapped on his glass with a fork. “Gentlemen, standard table rules apply. We discuss nice, pleasant things, and we don’t bring up negatives or problems during meals. Am I right?” he asked the boys.
“Like what?” Carla asked as she shoveled a pile of scrambled eggs and bacon onto her plate.
“He don’t want us to talk about fucking.” Matty replied as he finished a bowl of melon. “Right Uncle Adam? He asked
“What’s negative or problems about fucking?” Carla asked as Stuart, Phillip and Michael squirmed a bit.
Adam drew a deep sigh as he reached for the girl and put her in his lap. Now pulling her plate over to his, he picked up a fork full of eggs and fed the girl. “My good friend Carla here sometimes forgets to use certain words in mixed company. Please forgive her.” Adam said as he filled another fork.
“We ain’t in mixed company Uncle Adam, we’re all boys here.” Carla finally managed to say.
Adam put another fork full in her mouth. “Don’t talk with your mouth full sweetheart, it’s not polite.” Adam told the girl as the boys giggled. “Carla is one of the boys in the Mafia, along with her partner in crime, Jeanette over there.” Adam told the men as the boys continued to giggle. “She lives with us, and she considers herself one of the boys. At the same time, Carla does not yet understand that “Mixed company” doesn’t necessarily have to mean a mix of boys and girls, or men and women. “Mixed company” also means while in the company of guests; right Carla?” Adam asked as he held another fork at the ready.
“Ya don’t want me to say “Fuck” in front of them, right?” Carla replied.
“I don’t want you to talk with a mouthful of food either, but that doesn’t seem to stop you.” Adam said as the boys giggled all the more. “Let’s pretend we’re in school and not out on the ball field, or in the lake. Let’s pretend we have learned other words to replace the “Good” ones, and we’re going to use them for now. How’s that sound?” Adam asked the girl as he put her back on the bench next to himself.
“Uncle Michael became our blood brother this morning!” Billy told the tables. “Did Uncle Phillip and Uncle Stuart become your blood brothers?” He asked his friends around the table.
“Great, so Uncle Michael won’t really need his orange juice anymore!” Sid said as he sat down at the table and picked up Michael’s juice. “Welcome to the family!” he told Michael as the boys giggled all the more.
“Maybe I fed the wrong one.” Adam said as he motioned for one of the boys to get Michael another glass of juice.
For the children and most of the staff, it was a routinely spent hour or so to eat breakfast and prepare for the day. For Thomas’s brothers, it was probably an endless ordeal that mercifully ended for them with most of their dignity in tatters, but out of earshot of anyone who could put them in prison for 100 years or so.
“Maybe Sid doesn’t fully understand we’re going to be operating on him in less than 20 hours.” Michael joked to Barry.
Barry chuckled as the men climbed the stairs to Bert’s Office. “As a child, the very first thing a person learned about Sid was that you never wanted him to know something that embarrassed or humiliated you. Telling Sid a “Secret” about yourself or even someone else was the fastest way to spread the news. He always knew when something could hurt someone if revealed publicly and never did it maliciously, but if you didn’t want other people knowing you masturbated or had a crush on some particular friend or staff member, the last person in the world you would even go near was Sid.
We had one boy in school who had a thing about being seen naked. He would dash from the shower to the towel bin, wrap himself in a towel and then run into his room and lock the door.
We all watched this act for about a week, and one day the kid dashed out of the shower, ran into the hall to get a towel and the towel bin was gone and the bathroom doors and doors to all the rooms were locked. Sid finally appeared stark naked from the playroom and “Saved” the boy by walking him around the entire dorm looking for a towel. The boy was “Cured” from that day forward.” Barry replied with a grin. “The key to Sid is in knowing when he considers something “Silly”. Usually, that meant something surrounding sex.”
“The good news is that he knows when it’s safe to have fun with people and when to maintain the “Wall of Pretend” as he calls people’s attitude towards their sexuality. He might rib you unmercifully, but never in mixed company.” Barry told the Vineyard men.
“There’s that term again; “Mixed company”. I gather from Adams little talk that Carla is used to using street terms for certain situations.” Phillip now said.
Barry nodded. “Just as with society, the children know both sets of words. When they’re among themselves, they’ll use the street terms and when they know they’re in a social situation, they’ll reluctantly use the proper terms, but to them, “Fuck” is a lot easier to understand than the bland “Intercourse”. The staff tries to keep it to a dull roar, but it doesn’t always work. The bottom line is that it’s not done for shock value, it’s merely an easier, faster way to describe the situation as far as they’re concerned.” He told the group as they entered the porch.
David had already arrived with Thomas, and Paulie was there with Doctor Lester. Still missing were Jesse and Spencer along with Sid and Jeanette.
“If this operation is so “Routine”, how come all these people came down here?” Jesse said when Sid told the boys about his coming surgery.
“We explained why these other people are here. They didn’t come specifically for me; they are here on other business too.” Sid replied. “We’re not here to discuss me today; we’re here to have a Team Meeting regarding your requests.”
“We can have the meeting after you come back.” Spencer said.
“Uncle Bert scheduled the meeting for today because we’re out of time Spencer. If you’re going to go to school up North, the arrangements need to be made now. It’s a little more involved than just jumping on the plane and waving goodbye to you.” Sid responded.
“I’m not going until you’re back from the hospital.” Spencer flatly replied.
“Me too.” Jesse added.
“I’ll be home on Wednesday, and that won’t give us the time to make the arrangements if the Team decides you can go away to school.” Sid said.
“Then I’ll go later.” Spencer replied as he stopped walking towards the Office. “I ain’t going until you come back from the hospital; and I’m going to the hospital with you.” Spencer told his two staff members as he left for the Cove.
Both Sid and Jesse watched Spencer and Jeanette as they walked up the path in silence.
“Well that went over very well.” Sid said sarcastically.
“He don’t trust hospitals Uncle Sid. Remember what happened to Anthony.” Jesse said as he took Sid’s hand.
Sid nodded. For the time being, there would be no Team Meetings regarding Spencer and Jesse, and all Bert had to figure out was how to keep Spencer from the Operating Room.
Having no choice in the matter, Bert canceled the Team Meetings which left Thomas’s brothers free to explore the campus. Being Labor Day, there was no school, and the children were fully involved in one recreational activity after another. For the next 6 hours of so, the Vineyard men spent the day accompanied by a gaggle of campers in each of the carts while being shown every available activity and event going on, especially up on the hill in Camp Kenny, and down on the main campus.
As busy as the men were, Jeanette, Gloria and Johanna were even busier with Spencer.
“How the fuck am I going to explain to Duke that we’re bringing in a child to accompany one of their patients in the hospital?” Bert asked Jeanette.
“Probably the best explanation is a donation to the building fund. Uncle Sid is going to be staying in a private room, he’s going to be operated on by his own physicians, and his nephew is extremely attached to him. We’ll keep Sid’s nephew busy and happy while he’s there, and they can go build whatever it is they are building. Doctors get away with shit all the time; have Uncle Stuart or one of his brothers write up a prescription to keep Spencer with Uncle Sid, and they’ll all look the other way.” Jeanette replied.
Bert shook his head. “All three of you spent the whole fucking day with Spencer and you still couldn’t maintain some kind of control over him?” Bert asked as he made himself a drink. “He’s just a thirteen year old kid for God’s sake!”
“Let’s look on the bright side, Uncle Bert; we got him to agree to stay in the room while Uncle Sid is going to be operated on. If you were dealing with him all day, we’d be lucky if you got him to agree to stay out of the fucking Operating Room.” Gloria replied as the girls giggled.
“This is the kind of shit I get around here every day. Are you sure you don’t want a few used Camp Mothers up there in New Hampshire?” Bert asked Matthew.
“Can it be done?” Thomas asked his brothers once the chuckles subsided.
“I’ve never been to Duke. You have; how flexible are they?” Stuart asked his brother.
“Schizophrenic. One day they’ll work with you, the next, you’re staring at a blank wall. There’s no rhyme or reason to it, it really depends upon who you ask and how flexible they feel like being at the time.” Thomas replied.
“Well then the frontal bribe approach is out; we don’t have time to go Doctor shopping for a flexible administrator. I would let Harry open whatever doors need to be opened.” Matthew now said. Bert nodded his head and picked up the phone.
“You boys keep telling me what fabulous child care experts you are, and you can’t keep one little thirteen year old boy from running that place, lock, stock, and barrel? Maybe we should be paying him the big bucks and put you in elementary school!” The Colonel said.
“You could always come down here Harry and show us how it’s done. Better yet, I’ll send you an even dozen so you can re-train them with your expert skills.” Bert replied.
“Never mind, I have enough babysitting to do up here. Just for your information, Duke is going to be told that Sid has Top Security Clearance through Homeland Security and one of his patients who is about to get a nose job wants to see to it that her Cosmetic Surgeon feels most comfortable at Duke and doesn’t send her back to Texas with a bent beak. She’ll be most appreciative for any assistance Duke can offer to make Dr. Sid’s stay more comfortable. That should have them on knee pads for you.” The Colonel replied as the laughter continued.
Preparations for Sid’s surgery had been on-going for months, and the plans were made well. Well made plans never work out in the end, and the Eve of Surgery was no different. Sid ate a relatively small Dinner meal, and was then taken to the Infirmary for preparations. A last minute change for logistical reasons had Sid leaving for Duke by helicopter that evening so he could be there at the crack of dawn.
The original planning called for him to be going with Gloria and Stephanie, and that had changed somewhat. Now, in addition to the girls, he would be joined by Spencer, Jesse, Jeanette and Johanna. Let’s not forget all three of the girls toddlers plus Thomas and David.
After a shower Sid was given an enema, and then a surgical shave. Once back in bed and in a hospital gown, he began what would be the final prep for his surgery including taking oral antibiotics and then his intravenous lines were established.
“Ya ain’t still all pissed off at me for torturing you are you?” Sid asked Stephanie as the RN approached with her tray.
Stephanie smiled. “Were you un-mercifully cruel to me when I first came? I hadn’t noticed.” She said with a smile.
“So when you told me you hated my guts and wanted me to die, you were just fooling with me, right?” Sid asked as he looked at the towel covering the instruments.
Stephanie shook her head and looked at Jeanette who was nursing Sidney-Bertram. “Maybe you want to take the baby into the back so that he doesn’t watch his Uncle Sid fall apart over a little pin stick.” She asked.
“Turn your head if you want to Uncle Sid, but you don’t have to cough.” Stephanie said as she palpated his arm for a vein.
Sid could feel his blood pressure rise as he looked the other way and prepared himself for the dreaded needle. Working swiftly and with great skill, Stephanie found a vein and expertly installed the apparatus and secured it to Sid with minimal theatrics on his part. As far as Sid was concerned, everything else from there on out was downhill. With the IV tube in, there would be no more needle sticks.
After she started an IV drip and added a mild sedative, Sid was basically finished until he arrived at the hospital. With a tote in hand, Spencer, Jesse and David arrived at the Infirmary and all that remained was for some goodbye visitors to show up.
For the better part of three months, Adam had the task of keeping the Cove a stress-free zone for Sid where the man could come and pretend all was well with no talk whatsoever of anything akin to prostates, cancer and hospitalizations. Adam had done the job very well, and now that task was at an end.
“What are the boys up to?” Sid asked Adam as the man sat down next to Sid’s bed.
“The whole camp is up on the hill. Dan has organized a Water Olympics at the Pool to keep them occupied until we get you on the chopper and on your way. How did the IV go?” Adam asked as he looked at the tube attached to Sid’s arm.
“She used a jack-hammer to put it in place, but I took it like a man.” Sid replied as he looked at Stephanie.
“He cried like a baby. You would have thought I was breaking his arm or something.” Stephanie replied as she smiled back at Sid.
“Don’t just lay there doing nothing, make yourself useful.” Jeanette said as she handed Sid a bottle of formula and Sidney-Bertram.
“I have to get back up on the hill, but I wanted to make sure you have everything you’ll need. Did you forget anything back at the Cove or up in your cabin?” Adam asked as his eyes began to glaze a bit.
“Sid smiled knowingly. “I’m surrounded by dozens of gophers, so if there is anything they may have forgotten, I’ll whip their asses and send them after it. Stop looking at me like you’re about to get my job, I’ll be back here on Wednesday, so all my shit better not be sitting in your room. I’ve seen how you’ve been eyeing that Hammond B-3, but you’re gonna have to wait another 20 or 30 years before it’s yours.” Sid told his friend.
“What an asshole” Adam said as he bent over and gave Sid a hug while trying not to disturb Sidney-Bertram’s meal time.
Sid felt the wetness of Adam’s tears on his neck, but chose not to verbalize them. “I love you too my friend, like a brother and like a son.” Sid replied as he patted Adam’s back with his free arm. “I’ll see you on Wednesday.”
As Adam mounted the path with his cart, the man thought back on the past two and a half years; his arrival and first meeting Sammy, David and Jesse. His first meeting at the barn with Sid. The endless discussions the two men had when the rest of the camp was fast asleep, and for whatever reason, the night he held Sammy in his arms as the hurricane approached and he was absolutely convinced they were all going to die.
Like most of the staff at Green Tree, Adam was not an overly religious man, and somehow, getting on his knees and praying seemed somehow hypocritical to him. He hadn’t done it when he thought Sammy might be dead by morning, and he saw no real reason to do it now. Still, he needed real comfort and solace to carry him through, and there were about 800 ways to receive it. This was not a time to be alone.
When Sammy’s story was first started, I had no intentions of writing another “War and Peace.” It simply kept evolving as Green Tree keeps evolving. As with life, the story of Green Tree is not finished, hopefully it never will be.
Thank you for your patience concerning this Chapter, perhaps one day “Society” will learn why it was so hard for me to deliver it to the printed page; But that’s another story.
Cheers and Thanks to Celedon and my good friend “Johnie” at JPP.
Howdy Doody